November 8-12
The political situation in Bucharest
In Bucharest, the ruling National Liberal Party no longer wants to partner with the USR, and moved towards the Social Democrats, along whom they have governed before, in 2013-2014. The Democratic Union of Hungarians is going to be a part of the future government. On Tuesday, they had the first official negotiations for forming a majority, and subsequent discussions were centered on the governing platform. There are several areas in which the future partners have agreed on from the start, but there are disagreements too. In economic negotiations, for instance, the Social Democrats proposed raising the minimum wage, the minimum pension, but also child allocations. The Liberals retorted that raising these incomes has to be feasible within the budget. After setting a platform, the talks would focus on forming a new cabinet. We recall that after the USR left the government in September, the Liberals and the Hungarian Union was dismissed by censure motion, introduced by the Social Democrats, and voted positively on even by the USR. Since then, President Klaus Iohannis made two proposals for PM, one from the USR and one from the Liberals, which were both turned down by Parliament.
The healthcare system is overwhelmed, and the vaccination rate low
Once the number of new cases of COVID dropped in Romania, the population seems to have lost interest in vaccination, even though official reports this week show that almost 70% of new infections and 90% of deaths were in unvaccinated people. The authorities warn that if this rate of vaccination stays the same through the end of the year, Romania will have 8.5 million people vaccinated, meaning half of the eligible population over 12, which is an insufficient rate of immunization. In the attempt to combat the pandemic, the authorities have boosted the Health Ministry budget with over 66 million Euro. The money come from the government reserve funds, and will be invested in anti-COVID medication and national healthcare programs. While the healthcare system is burdened by hospital overcrowding and the high number of severe COVID cases, Romania this week faced another fire in a COVID hospital, in the city of Ploiesti. Two patients died from burns, and a nurse was severely burned. This is not the first such incident in Romania. Last month, a fire in a hospital in Constanta killed seven patients. Previously, 10 other patients had died in a hospital in Patra Neamt, and 4 more died in a fire at the main infectious disease hospital in Bucharest, all in COVID wards.
Back to school
Around two of the three million K through 12 students in Romania were back to school in person on Monday, after two weeks of forced vacation under the pandemic. The schools that opened had to have at least 60% of their staff vaccinated. Vaccination czar Valeriu Gheorghita said that the students need to be in school in person, and adults should make every effort to keep them safe. In turn, interim Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu said that the new conditions for returning to school, though controversial, had an effect, and motivated teachers to get vaccinated. In addition, in order to catch up on the subjects that should have been taught during the imposed break, the Ministry of Education shortened the winter vacation for primary and secondary students.
Record inflation in Romania
Inflation in Romania continues to rise way above expectations, and is generating the highest price hikes in the last few years. The inflation report published on Thursday by the National Bank shows that the rate of inflation would reach 7.5% by next month, and is expected to go as low as 5.9% by late last year. According to the National Bank and analysts, rises in energy and fuel prices caused the rise, which would not stop even by the half of next year. According to bank spokesperson Dan Suciu, speaking for Radio Romania, the inflation trend and major price hikes are already occurring:
“Most of the rise in prices is behind us. The increases have mostly manifested. This does not mean that we will be seeing prices dropping. There will be more rise, but marginally.”
In this context, the National Bank on Tuesday has decided to raise the base interest rate, and the interest rate for loans from the central bank, in an attempt to control the runaway inflation.
Romanian-American discussions in Bucharest
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu went to Washington early this week to consolidate Romanian-American security cooperation. While there, he pointed to frozen conflicts in the Black Sea area. For over two decades, Romania has been pleading with Washington with regard to the importance of Black Sea security as part of transatlantic security, the minister added. Previously, he had called on Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to increase American presence in Romania and the region. The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to consolidating their Strategic Partnership, from military and security cooperation, to cooperation in politics, economy, energy, and human relations. In addition, Aurescu reiterated Romania's interest, as a strategic partner for the US, to make tangible progress in terms of the country being included in the Visa Waiver Program, removing the requirement for Romanians to get travel visas for the US.
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