\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The resignation of the Social
\nDemocrat Victor Ponta marks the exit from politics of one of the most
\ncontroversial figures in post-communist Romania. In the spring of 2012, he came
\nto power as Romania’s youngest prime minister since 1989. Born in 1972, Ponta
\nmarketed himself as the symbol of a generation unspoiled by the moral flaws of
\ncommunism, and as such he attracted some sympathy and confidence even from
\nthose who had always disliked the left. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A former prosecutor, he joined the
\npolitical circles in the early 2000s at the invitation of the Social Democratic
\nParty leader of the time, PM Adrian Nastase, later sentenced and imprisoned for
\ncorruption. Shortly after Ponta was sworn in, a scandal broke out regarding his
\nPh.D. thesis, which experts say was plagiarized. When faced with similar
\naccusations, the president of Hungary and a defence minister in Germany had
\nimmediately stepped down. Ponta did not. Nor did he resign in several other
\ncircumstances, for instance when his brother-in-law was arrested in a
\ncorruption investigation, after the poor organization of the presidential
\nelection last year or even when the National Anti-Corruption Directorate
\ncharged him with forgery of private documents, being accessory to tax evasion
\nand money laundering. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Post-1989 Romania’s youngest prime
\nminister also became its first PM subject to prosecution while in office. Ponta
\nonly stepped down after, on Tuesday night, tens of thousands of people took to
\nthe streets to protest the corruption in central and local administration,
\nagainst the backdrop of the overwhelming popular sentiment triggered by the
\nColectiv nightclub fire on Friday night, when more than 30 people died and
\nnearly 150 were injured. President Klaus Iohannis said the resignation was
\noverdue, and announced consultations with the parliamentary parties in view of
\nappointing a new prime minister. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The co-president of the National
\nLiberal Party in opposition, Alina Gorghiu, pleads for early elections: We
\nbelieve the most reasonable thing to do, the most balanced and the one that
\nresponds the best to the expectations of civil society is the solution of early
\nelections, through a political agreement.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The coalition made up of the Social
\nDemocratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the
\nAlliance of the Liberals and Democrats, which supported the outgoing
\ngovernment, say however that early elections would only extend the crisis. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Social Democratic leader Liviu
\nDragnea: We disagree with the Liberals’ proposal to have early elections. This
\nwould mean that as of today, for several months, we would have an unstable
\ngovernment with an interim prime minister, at a time when we are supposed to
\nadopt the public budget law, when winter is coming and an unstable government
\ncannot keep things under control.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The consultations and their outcome
\nare, according to all analysts, a major test for a political class with a
\nsevere credibility problem. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After Victor Ponta’s resignation on Wednesday, the parliamentary parties in Bucharest are holding talks with President Klaus Iohannis for the appointment of a new PM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":65992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[28945,33033,29442,29392,29184],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-65991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-new-pm","tag-resignation","tag-talks","tag-victor-ponta"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n