Nicu\u015for Dan, the independent candidate who won the race for
\nthe Bucharest City Hall in the September 27 local election, backed by the
\nNational Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance, this
\nThursday took over his new mandate. A well-reputed mathematician and longtime
\ncivic militant, Nicu\u015for Dan last month won a much-coveted office, which might
\nalso serve as a springboard for his political career. One of his predecessors, Traian B\u0103sescu,
\nwould become president, while another former mayor, Victor Ciorbea, would win a
\nmandate of Prime Minister. The capital city totals a tenth of Romania’s
\neligible voters. Bucharest mayors are usually invested with the largest number
\nof votes, with the exception of the president. Bucharest is the richest city in
\nthe country, with social and economic indicators above the EU average, and with
\na constantly changing demographics. However, the outgoing mayor,
\nSocial-Democrat Gabriela Firea, herself a contender in the local election, has
\nleft behind a city suffocated by pollution, paralyzed by heavy traffic and with
\na failing heating network and deficient infrastructure. The Bucharest City Hall
\npresently has some 6,000 pending litigations and a debt of over \u20ac600 million,
\nwhich does not include the tax obligations of municipal companies, as well as
\ngarnishments worth some \u20ac14.5 million. The new Mayor has asked for time to
\nsolve all of these issues. Nicu\u015for Dan:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Bucharest has an extraordinary outlook and I am certain
\nwe’ll succeed. In the short-term, however, I’m asking the people of Bucharest
\nto show patience and solidarity, because we’re dealing with serious matters of
\nurgency. We are confronted with a health crisis, with a heating crisis, and we
\nalso have a financial crisis on our hands at Bucharest level. Patience, and we
\nwill solve everything. We are a community, and it is our responsibility to
\novercome this pandemic.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Nicu\u015for Dan also enjoys an excellent relationship with
\nLiberal Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, and has a majority in the Bucharest
\nGeneral Council, dominated by the Liberals and the Save Romania Union-PLUS
\nAlliance, that he can rely on. At district level, candidates backed by these
\nparties won only three seats, while the other three went to the
\nSocial-Democrats. At county level, the election score was similarly tied. The
\nSocial-Democrats held onto their traditional centers of power in the south and
\nthe east, while the Liberals consolidated their influence in the west. The
\nDemocratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania won the most votes in those
\ncounties in central Romania where Hungarian ethnics form the majority. Voted by
\na third of people in Bucharest, the Save Romania Union-PLUS Alliance for the
\nfirst time won the mayor races in Bra\u015fov, Alba Iulia, Bac\u0103u and Timi\u015foara. In
\nthe latter case, the new mayor is Dominic Fritz, born and raised in Germany,
\nwho first came to Romania in 2003, when he was 20-years-old. Over half of the
\npeople in Timi\u015foara have voted for him, which marks a premiere for the history
\nof this city.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The winners of the local election held last month are taking over their new mandates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":87054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[40097,40098,32140],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-87053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-bucharest-city-hall","tag-new-terms-in-office","tag-nicusor-dan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n