Eastern approaches

Ex-communist Europe

Protests in Romania

Romania's winter of discontent

Jan 28th 2012, 16:58 by V.P.

THEY have been called "worms", "violent and inept slum-dwellers", and "suckers". And yet hundreds of them, exasperated about austerity measures, political incompetence and lack of public consultation over laws, keep coming out on to the freezing winter streets of Bucharest and other Romanian cities to urge the president and government to resign.

"Now is the winter of our discontent—Suckerspeare" read one banner in Bucharest's University Square—the same spot where anti-Communist protesters were beaten and killed in the early 1990s in clashes with government-controlled miners. Now the demands are more diverse: no to shale-gas exploration and gold-mining with cyanide, yes to the return of the long-defunct monarchy, higher pensions, lower taxes, more bicycle paths.

Others are simply asking for politicians to respect them. And after two weeks of protests, it seems that the politicians have started to listen. Or at least to find some scapegoats.

On Monday Teodor Baconschi, the foreign minister, was sacked after writing about the "violent and inept slums" that were home to the protestors, to be compared with the rest of "hard-working Romania." Then Iulian Urban, a deputy from the ruling Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), resigned after calling the protesters "worms".

On Wednesday President Traian Băsescu finally broke his silence with a televised speech in which he admitted there was a "rupture" between him and part of the population. He said that austerity was needed to restore Romania's economic health, and complained that it was "unfair" to be labelled as a "dictator", as some protestors have done.

Yet Mr Băsescu conceded that he needs to "reduce the blunders I sometimes make in public", such as the one that sparked the protests—his row with a respected doctor who opposed the government's plan to partially privatise the health-care system.

The opposition, meanwhile, is trying to capitalise on the anger movement, by organising parallel demonstrations. General elections are due in November, and the Social-Liberal Union is riding high in the polls with about 60% support, while the PDL languishes at around 11%.

This week Romania's constitutional court gave the opposition another boost by ruling against a government plan to hold local elections at the same time as parliamentary ones. The unpopular PDL had wanted to merge the two so as to postpone the local campaign by a few months.

But the advent of a centre-left government later this year is unlikely to save Romanians from more austerity. The country has contracted another $5 billion loan from the IMF, on top of a $27 billion rescue package agreed in 2009 with the IMF and the EU. And with growth forecasts being slashed all around the region as the euro-zone crisis bites, Romania's winter of discontent has few chances of turning into a glorious summer.

(Photo credit: AFP)

Readers' comments

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CCV83

2000 people in Bucharest during the first days of the protests, then 1000, 700, 500 and now around 200. How can they be representative in a city with 1.700.000 population and around 300.000 commuters?
For 8 years now, a few TV stations (controlled by the opposition) are feding up people with anger against the actual leaders. What we see now is the result of their campaign. It has become a religion for them to bring down the president and the government.
And don't get me wrong. I'm not a supporter of Basescu or the ruling party. I just can't agree with the way some people choose to express their discontent.

greatmongo

Can anybody explain to me what will the socialists do?

Because as I see it there is no alternative to austerity other than bankruptcy ...

Josh2082 in reply to greatmongo

There are many alternatives to austerity. The most successful alternative, historically speaking (see South Korea round two and Brazil, would be to opt in the shareholders of Romania's debt. By making them become involved more constructively, the government is free to work with its citizens to find ways to boost spending in the right ways.

Too often austerity leads to outcomes that, though preventing bankruptcy, exacerbate living conditions for the poor and place middle class citizens into lives just one crisis away from financial collapse.

and1

for bluesky you are not from europe...ASIA? this is aur continent ..leave europe.EUROPE IS FOR italian ,france,romanians,spain,egland etc .

Vaisamar

THE SIMPLE EXPLANATION FOR ALL THIS BULLSHIT IS THAT USL(PSD,PNL,PC) ARE IN ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND THIS IS HOW THEY KNOW TO DO IT. THEY STILL ARE IN CAMPAIGN SINCE 2009. EVERYTHING FOR POWER AND MONEY.

This is Antena3 showing a fake video during the elections of 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PokBC50HHis&hd=1 wich say that in 2004 Basescu hit a boy.

The president Traian Basescu was put on an awkward situation almost speechless when invited to a tv show on Realitatea TV moderated by Razvan Dumitrescu (wich now have a tv show Subiectiv on Antena3 as a promotion) they started showing almost the same time the video on repeat mode on Antena3 and Realitatea.

After the show with the president ended on tv appear Dinu Patriciu and other PSD , PNL members that all said that the video is real and they saw all of that.

The shows continued durring the next days and the video was put on repeat mode on split tv screen.

This was between 1st round of presidential elections and the 2nd next ones.

To understand better the prostest in Romania read what Adrian Nastase PSD said in november 2011 :

"Această operaţiune înseamnă nu o suspendare în Parlament a lui Traian Băsescu, este vorba de o înlocuire a regimului Băsescu. Este vorba de o operaţiune mult mai complexă şi care nu este legată numai de Parlament. Problema stilului de politică pe care îl facem în România, problema modului în care trăim în ţară, nu este numai a Parlamentului. Şi atunci, formula pe care noi am decis-o este una etapizată care înseamnă inclusiv implicarea societăţii civile şi a cetăţenilor într-o operaţiune în care se va spune 'domnule preşedinte, numai un om din zece din ţara asta vă mai sprijină şi poate că ar trebui să plecaţi acasă"

Translate :

This operation is not suspended in Parliament of Traian Basescu it is a replacement regime Basescu. It is a more complex operation and is not linked solely to Parliament. The problem of political style that you do in Romania, the question of how we live in the country, it's not only of the Parliament. And then, the formula that we have decided that it is a gradual means including civil society and citizens in an operation that will say 'Mr. President, only one man in ten in this country supports you so perhaps you should go home.

Radian in reply to Vaisamar

You used two kinds of fallacies in your comment-
The first one is the so called "straw man".
In Romania all political parties are campaigning every year 365 days per year. As anywhere else, the Opposition parties fight against the ruling parties, especially when the Power tries to be too abusive. But in this January thousands of people took to the streets independently, in a nationwide protest against the corruption, arrogance, incompetence and nepotism of Basescu's regime. T

hese protests have nothing to do with the elections scheduled to be held by the end of 2011. Romanians are fed up with all governmental wrongdoings and mistakes as well as with the lies of the official propaganda. That's why people are protesting.

Your second fallacy is a typical "argumentum ad hominem". The words of Adrian Nastse quoted by you express the truth, no matter who is the individual that says the truth. According to all recent opinion polls, only one man in ten in this country supports Mr. Basescu".

Vaisamar in reply to Radian

And today Adrian Nastase got 2 years jail with execution so my theory confirm itself. USL is desperate to get the power so they can f..k up the justice like they did in the past.

Give me examples of official propaganda, i live in real world, i work in private sector, i wake up at 5am every weekday, and i get train from Timisoara to Arad at 6:15 am to work because i get better pay there.

If we make a poll in train 90% of them won't vote with USL =))
So stick your polls in your ass i don't give a sh.t about them =)

I have 1 vote and i will use it =)

Radian in reply to Vaisamar

II live in the real world, too. So, please, don't tell me about the Romanian real private economy.

Regarding your vote, you are free to use this constitutional right in the best way you think it can be used. At least, we can all agree on our common obligation regarding the good functioning of one of the most important mechanisms of our flawed democracy: FREE ELECTIONS IN DUE TIME!

But "revenon a nos moutons!": Basescu himself recognized that, SO FAR, the entire burden of the crisis was put on the shoulders of the ordinary people, while the Romanian politicians didn't pay a single penny because of the economic crisis. It's time for them (the PDL, the UNPR and the UDMR and last but not least Basescu himself), to pay the real POLITICAL cost of their wrong anti-crisis strategy. That's why thousands of Romanians took to the streets in nationwide protests and, moreover, in Milan, madrid, Strasbourg, London, Rome, Paris etc. etc.

The Romanian diaspora seems to wake up!

ad_ad in reply to Vaisamar

And, of course, there is not such thing as political command in the judicial system. I'm not saying that Nastase is clean, in my opinion is not, but this trial is a sinister farce. Every single time something happens in Romania, someone is being imprisoned.
Question: In that train is only you?

Faraway222 in reply to Vaisamar

Vaisamar dear, you're a deluded individual. Everybody knows Adrian Nastase's case of conviction is a political one, just so the Romanian authorities look good in the EU's eyes. The trial is so fake like it's author, Mr Basescu.
good for you if you can wake up that early and travel else where, you probalby don't have a wife and kids.
And according to the most recent INSOMAR survey, 92% of the population don't trust the president and the PM anymore!!!

Vaisamar in reply to Faraway222

Well the 92% of the population should better come to the vote not only the people who responded to the survey =))

Congratulation on your victory, you should open the champagne and don't loose time convincing me wich as you say i'm in minority and don't count =)

I expect USL to eliberate Adrian Nastase from jail when they come to power and give him 1 billion euros compensation for the fake trial and conviction =)

guest-iinwmel in reply to Radian

"thousands of people took to the streets independently"?? Where do you take your information from? I personally saw 20-30 people crowding under the televisions lights in Universitatii square- when all the televisions were raving about street protests. Romanians are fed up with Government wrong doings? That may be so, but don’t use what happened in January in evidence - that would be absurd. I also saw football hooligans causing havoc on the streets of Bucharest. If these are the people you claim represent your views and the opposition’s then I am truly sorry for you. I as a Romanian living in Romania am fed up with Romanians manipulated by the media and who cannot think for themselves - you seem to be one of them.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8SDnAjHwaJE

It tells here (in Romanian), how gypsies were called (by the liberals, opposition party) to Bucharest and Brasov for 50 RON (12 EUR) to organise protests. Gypsies got upset because instead of being paid after protests, they received just a sandwich and cigarettes. There are other similar news, but I'll stop here because it's late.

Hey, V.P., how about detailing this in your articles? You play games behind the cover offered so generously to you by The Economist, so you can report yields more for you:

VHenXbqnPj October 26th 2011, 21:28

Can we know who stands behind V.P (who wrote it)?
Cheers

Short Telegram - The Economist
October 30th 2011, 12:44

@VHenXbqnPj

The Economist maintains editorial anonymity in its print edition. The initials used for online pieces are to give the reader an idea of which contributor specialises in which subject. Regular readers of Eastern Approaches will know that EL is London-based, TJ is usually the Western Balkans correspondent. TE and A le B are in Budapest, KM is in Bratislava, KT in Warsaw and AO in Moscow.

Oh, my God, you're unstoppable, aren't you?

I think that everybody can see now why those people took to the streets in a desperate protest against Basescu and his supporters' antidemocratic and absurd behavior.

Sooner or later you will understand: about 80 percent of Romanians are fed up with your autistic, namely obsessive and repetitive behavior.

I wonder why you don't mention the fact that the President's party (PDL) gives away bread, sugar, buckets (electoral bribe) so people vote for them.

The people protesting in the streets are not from the minority group you mentioned and most certainly weren't paid. The Democracy is a right Romanians obtained in Dec 1989 through loss of human lives, so it must be cherished and protected against dictators like Basescu!

Coasta de Azorel

Probably V.P. is someone from the Romanian media. Otherwise I don't understand how the article can appear so fast in Romanian newspapers and sites (basically, just one hour after being published here). Either Romanian journalists are reading TE every hour (very unlikely) or V.P. himself announced them that a new article has been posted on TE. Check my reply to seasider b.

As far as I can see, V.P. only authors articles about Romania so he/she must be Romanian. And there are only two types or Romanians these days...

Check out the headlines of V.P.'s articles in recent past (since 2010):
1. Political crisis in Romania: Wobbles at the top | The Economist
Sep 27th 2010, 16:36 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
2. Romania: Too hot to handle | The Economist
Jun 14th 2010, 16:31 by V.P. | BUCHAREST AND E.L. | LONDON.
3. Romania's hopeless politics: How not to run a country | The Economist
Romania's hopeless politics. How not to run a country. Oct 22nd 2010, 18:35 by V.P. | BUCHAREST
4. France's expulsion of Roma: Have your Roma back | The Economist
Aug 19th 2010, 9:44 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
5. Romania's economy: What's that giant sucking sound? | The ...
Nov 28th 2011, 17:46 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
6. Romanian roads: Romania's motorway blues | The Economist
Aug 16th 2011, 12:09 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
7. Anti-missile defence in Romania: The great shield of Deveselu | The ...
Anti-missile defence in Romania. The great shield of Deveselu. Nov 7th 2011, 19: 03 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
8. (the last straw): Rioting in Romania: The battle of Bucharest | The Economist
The battle of Bucharest. Jan 16th 2012, 13:57 by V.P.. Tweet. "POLENTA doesn't explode" is the gnomic phrase Romanians

What do you think? Is he/se or not Romanian? It may well be one of them... you know... If he/she is from the Romanian media, then things are pretty clear. TE does not want to spend money having a serious correspondent in Eastern Europe's second largest country.

Radian in reply to Coasta de Azorel

Are you so desperate to control the media, even the foreign one.? Why? Because, otherwise, the seven- year efforts of pro- Basescu propaganda will rapidly melt under your eyes? Are you afraid that, once with the truth, everybody will can see that "the emperor's new clothes", means nothing more than "la même Jeannette autrement coiffée"?

These ridiculous attempts to prevent The Economist from publishing some well documented and objective articles are nothing else than a new proof of antidemocratic attitude of the PDL supporters: destroy everything you know you can't control!

How do you dare to urge a foreign media to stop publishing its materials just because you do not agree with their content?. Don't you like them? Do not read them! There are plenty of choices. Read Evenimentul zilei, for exemple. Read "Curentul". These are pro-Basescu 100 percent. It's your problem, not mine.

I like very much this material , very much indeed and I want to read this kind of objective articles as often as possible.

seasider b

Dear editors of The Economist,
I believe I speak for many of your Romanian readers when I say that we have the utmost respect for your publication and that we are following it regularly as a source for documented opinions and objective points of view on the important issues of the day.
So PLEASE DO STOP WRITING IN THIS BIASED MANNER ABOUT THE LATEST EVENTS IN ROMANIA, if you care to continue having us as readers.
I do not usually take the time to comment on articles, but this time it was too disturbing for me to refrain from expressing dissatisfaction. I will not repeat the arguments concerning the article's flaws, as they have been already clearly presented by the other readers who have posted comments.
I just hope someone from your respected publication will take the time to read all these comments and consider their points.

Radian in reply to seasider b

As I previously said in my answer to a similar comment, I think that your considerations are totally wrong. On the contrary, in my opinion this article is very well documented and very well written. You are maybe used to read solely the Romanian publications affiliated with the Romanian presidency and the PDL, the so-called "oficioase" that publish paid articles, written at command.

I think it's good for you to read an objective analysis here.

Coasta de Azorel in reply to seasider b

I think it's interesting to note how fast articles posted on Eastern approaches blog of The Economist make it into Romanian media. I cannot imagine Romanian newspapers and TV channels have people that scan FT and TE site every hour. The only conclusion that I can draw is that as soon as the article is posted, Romanian media gets somehow informed. Possibly by V.P. himself?

I've seen this patters over and over again. Some person posts throws some biased reports on CNN iReport and then announces immediately the Romanian mainstream media: quick! look! CNN is writing about the protests in Romania. This, of course, without mentioning that iReport is not content generated by CNN. How do I know that? Because from the picture displayed on Romania Libera (a screenshot of iReport) it was clear that the RL journalist was THE SECOND VIEWER of that report posted on CNN. I also checked timestamps. Same here: V.P. posts the article on Eastern approaches (content probably not checked by TE editors), then whoosshh, in a couple of minutes the news is fed into the Romanian networks. How is this possible?

P.S.:
I see myself that they (TE) don't understand. Sooner or later their approach (which spills into other articles as well) will alienate all their serious readers. FT and TE (to a lesser extent TE) have become affected by this rumour mongering disease and there's not easy cure for it. Check the headlines in TE and FT from September 2008 to April 2009 and tell me if you don't get the same impression. The same now: TE does not help me a bit make some sense of this EURO crisis, or why the same is not happening in the USA, where some of the states are obviously bankrupt. I'd need some data + serious interpretation, but all that I get is subjective analysis.

Coasta de Azorel in reply to seasider b

Probably V.P. is someone from the Romanian media. Otherwise I don't understand how the article can appear so fast in Romanian newspapers and sites (basically, just one hour after being published here). Either Romanian journalists are reading TE every hour (very unlikely) or V.P. himself announced them that a new article has been posted on TE. Check my reply to seasider b.

As far as I can see, V.P. only authors articles about Romania so he/she must be Romanian. And there are only two types or Romanians these days...

Check out the headlines of V.P.'s articles in recent past (since 2010):
1. Political crisis in Romania: Wobbles at the top | The Economist
Sep 27th 2010, 16:36 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
2. Romania: Too hot to handle | The Economist
Jun 14th 2010, 16:31 by V.P. | BUCHAREST AND E.L. | LONDON.
3. Romania's hopeless politics: How not to run a country | The Economist
Romania's hopeless politics. How not to run a country. Oct 22nd 2010, 18:35 by V.P. | BUCHAREST
4. France's expulsion of Roma: Have your Roma back | The Economist
Aug 19th 2010, 9:44 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
5. Romania's economy: What's that giant sucking sound? | The ...
Nov 28th 2011, 17:46 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
6. Romanian roads: Romania's motorway blues | The Economist
Aug 16th 2011, 12:09 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
7. Anti-missile defence in Romania: The great shield of Deveselu | The ...
Anti-missile defence in Romania. The great shield of Deveselu. Nov 7th 2011, 19: 03 by V.P. | BUCHAREST.
8. (the last straw): Rioting in Romania: The battle of Bucharest | The Economist
The battle of Bucharest. Jan 16th 2012, 13:57 by V.P.. Tweet. "POLENTA doesn't explode" is the gnomic phrase Romanians

What do you think? Is he/se or not Romanian? It may well be one of them... you know... If he/she is from the Romanian media, then things are pretty clear. TE does not want to spend money having a serious correspondent in Eastern Europe's second largest country.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8SDnAjHwaJE

It tells here (in Romanian), how gypsies were called (by the liberals, opposition party) to Bucharest and Brasov for 50 RON (12 EUR) to organise protests. Gypsies got upset because instead of being paid after protests, they received just a sandwich and cigarettes. There are other similar news, but I'll stop here because it's late.

Hey, V.P., how about detailing this in your articles? You play games behind the cover offered so generously to you by The Economist, so you can report yields more for you:

VHenXbqnPj October 26th 2011, 21:28

Can we know who stands behind V.P (who wrote it)?
Cheers

Short Telegram - The Economist
October 30th 2011, 12:44

@VHenXbqnPj

The Economist maintains editorial anonymity in its print edition. The initials used for online pieces are to give the reader an idea of which contributor specialises in which subject. Regular readers of Eastern Approaches will know that EL is London-based, TJ is usually the Western Balkans correspondent. TE and A le B are in Budapest, KM is in Bratislava, KT in Warsaw and AO in Moscow.

Did it occur to you that TE, like the majority of the of the publications, being owned a finacial group, has a bussiness and political agenda?
It is enough to notice how consistenly some subjects are adressed nearly every day (I am not talking about Romania).

carstoiuc

I have been a huge fan of The Economist for more than 8 years now and I have been subscribed to it all this time. However, to my despair, I have started noticing a drop in the quality of the articles, that can have only few explanations:
1. The articles are written at command; basically paid articles.
2. The writers and editors are simply not interested in the subject, they do not analyse the sources nor the situation. They are only interested in covering some more pages with articles.

In either way it is a loss for the readers of The Economist...
The article is clearly biased, lacks the background information, does not specify the sources for the polls and in general fails to paint an objective picture of the protests.

Radian in reply to carstoiuc

In my opinion, your considerations are totally wrong. I think exactly the opposite: this article is very well documented and very well written. You are maybe used to read solely the Romanian publications affiliated with the Romanian presidency and the PDL, the so-called "oficioase" that publish paid articles, written at command.

I think it's good for you to read an objective analysis here.

Max02 in reply to carstoiuc

You are a "huge fan" of Basescu's regim,in fact you are only interested in the money! 1.Yours comments are written at command;basically paid comments. 2.The commentors like you are simply not interested in the deterioration of the democracy in our country,in the fact the Romania is going in wrong direction. 3. I'm proud to be a protester!

carstoiuc in reply to Max02

I'm not going to entertain more replys to my initial comment or any follow-up, simply because the level of intelligence and observation of all replies so far was far below average.
To give Max02 a quick answer: You can be very proud to be a protester, I am also proud to be a protester. My comment on the article had nothing to do with the protesters at all - it was purely a remark of how the articles on the economist blog and weekly print edition have deteriorated in the past years. Nothing to do with Basescu or with USL. The fact that you are referring obsesively, like your previous fellow, Radion (hope you are not one and the same) to my bad political preferences and to your "correct" options makes me sad. It just shows that you are still in the old communist mentality, who is not with me is against me...

Good luck man.

Coasta de Azorel

Where do all those retired people have A3-format colour printers to print their slogans? Do they have a computer if they are so poor? I imagine owning a printer that can print on A3 paper must be quite prohibitive. He he he... I don't think protests are so spontaneous...

Radian in reply to Coasta de Azorel

Please, stop underestimate those protesters. They are very smart people, just take a look at their banners and placards.
For example: TO BE is not T.B.
Or the one transcribed in this article:
"Now is the winter of our discontent—Suckerspeare"

As a matter of facts,@ad_ad has given you a very good answer below, but you have reiterated your comment here. "You can go to any store that has a PC and a printer and pay 1 leu (0.2 Euro) for an A4 (colour)?" An A3 might be a little bit more expensive, for example - 0,4 Euro instead of 0,2?

guest-iionlai

The poll mentioned in the article is unknown: the link takes you to an paper that nobody ever heard of. The company that made the poll is also nowhere to be found on the internet and nobody ever heard of it also. The only clue about this is that the poll is made for Antena 3. I think this clarifies everything.

I'm surprised that you can publish such kind of unreliable information.

Coasta de Azorel

The Economist is completely biased in this. I have checked other sources, and the difference is huge. Check out NY times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/world/europe/romanian-protesters-urge-...

Excerpt (reports that protests are organised by opposition):

About 7,000 people turned up at a rally in Bucharest on Thursday organized by the opposition National Liberal Party, according to the Ministry of the Interior, and the crowd in the downtown square later was said to number about 1,500.

I think other articles are well-balanced, but TE has chosen the wrong path. As far as I'm concerned, V.P. may well stand for Victor Ponta.

Radian in reply to Coasta de Azorel

You cannot be so naive and take seriously the joke with "Victor Ponta - editor!"
Please, pay attention to these figures and try, just try to understand the Romanian realities. The figures have been provided by a very realiable source, namely the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy (IRES).

The IRES poll conducted on the 7th and 8th of December 2011 revealed that two-thirds of Romanians say their income is insufficient for basic expenses and 79 percent consider that the country is going in wrong direction. (WRONG DIRECTION means WRONG DIRECTION and about 80 percent of Romania's population means a lot of poeple, a huge majority!)

Moreover, 74 percent of Romanians believe that the only solution able to put Romania back on track is a new Cabinet. (Margin of error of plus/minus 2.6 percent). That's why the protesters are asking the BOC Government to resign. I am sure you can understand it.

Please, take also into account that this poll was conducted in December 2011, before Traian Basescu's blunder regarding Dr. Raed Arafat. You can be sure that the next poll will show higher percentages.

EU-RO-PA in reply to Radian

Your reply is just as biased as the article that generated it. Are you sure it isn't you the author? You might just as well be V.P. - aka Victor Ponta, the infantile president of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), the main opposition party.

First of all, the article (as well as your reply) mentioned some really obscure polls conducted by the PSD-financed pollsters: IRES is headed by Vasile Dancu, a high-profile member and ideologue of the PSD. As for the CSS Infopolitic, it belongs to Dan Sultanescu, a consultant in the service of Liviu Dragnea, another high-profile PSD member, and was recently hired (directly, not through a procurement procedure, as it is usual in the consultancy sector) to conduct a poll in order to establish the electoral rankings of the PSD candidates running in the forthcoming local elections.

As for the attention given by The Economist to the "Protests in Romania" - in fact, a few hundred confused people who come no way near to the hundreds of thousands that have been protesting all around Europe to little effect and media attention - it makes me think that V.P. is a journalist working for the most biased Romanian media, such as the Antena group owned and controlled by Dan Voiculescu, a notorious former officer of the feared Securitate, the Communist secret police, who built his financial and media empire with the moey he stole from the bank accounts of the Securitate-controlled export-import company, Crescent.

Pay attention, The Economist, to the credentials of the people who are allowed to publish on your website (as they are not reliable enough to make their way into the print edition). You have a reputation to maintain!

Radian in reply to EU-RO-PA

First of all, the protests in Romania took place simultaneously in more than 60 towns and were daily attended by hundreds or thousands of people, even in the cold days with temperatures under minus 10 degrees Celsius. They are still underway in Bucharest and other Romanian towns at this very moment, despite the frosty weather.
As for the pollsters, their reliability was proved so far on many occasions, of course, with the mentioned margin of error.
Regarding the number of protesters and their representativeness, you know as well as I do that polenta doesn't explode so easily. The mass protests are not at all in our tradition. You should also know that under Basescu's regime the democracy in Romania gradually deteriorated and this process pushed Romania to the bottom of the list of the countries with flawed democracy, somewhere between Sri Lanka and Paraguay, far away from any other EU member state, including Bulgaria.
I have to confess, I am really amazed at your nerve to label opposition members as Securitate-controlled or as a former Securitate officer while Mr. Basescu himself was in the second tier of the Communist Party leadership during the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. In the last years of Ceausescus, he was the envoy of Securitate to Antwerp in order to head the Navrom Agency. Besides, during the December 1989 revolution, Mr. Basescu's Securitate file had vanished! So, please, in the house of the hangman do not talk of rope!

EU-RO-PA in reply to Max02

Except that nobody has been able to prove that, while there is ample evidence against Mr. Voiculescu's rank in the Securitate, which is publicly attested by the Romanian Council for the Research of the Securitate Archives, an official body.

I'm amazed how people (and apparently also the respectable international media) still continue to give even a minimum of credit to the media outlets owned and controlled by Voiculescu, a man who reported his own family to the secret police only for personal advancement and benefits and who has never been able to explain how he found himself in 1990 in the possession of those hundreds of millions of dollars he needed to build his business and media empire and to pay his army of journalists with no professional ethics whatsoever, such as the author of this article.

binom in reply to EU-RO-PA

Nobody has been able to prove yet... "I'm amased how people (and apparently(?!?) also the respectable international media)..." Oh,my God, you want to control the respectable international media,like the Romenian one!

Faraway222 in reply to Coasta de Azorel

Mr/Mrs Azorel, why is it so hard for you to understand people can't take anymore the antidemocratic tactics with a hint of old comunist smell of that arrogant prick that is your beloved president, aka Base.
If he had a bit of dignity he would resign the same way any leader from any decmocratic country would. But hey, Romania is no Germany or France or UK and that means he will hang on to the power to the very last moment. disgusting political party, disgusting leader!

Ioan

This is a good sign - we are a free country, what the hack! Let them protest. In front of the White House in Washington DC, there is daily someone or a group protesting about something, anything. Well, I know, weather in DC is much better ... but hey, Romanians are better adapted to cold.

ad_ad in reply to Ioan

"Even though once again, we see thousands of citizens on the streets in the frigid cold of winter expressing their unhappiness with their current situation, I feel good about this country and its potential. First, I would point out that while there is plenty of reason to be discouraged, the mere fact that people can exercise their God-given right of dissent without fear of being shot from the rooftops is a sign of progress. If you have any doubts, ask the citizens of Syria."(U.S. Ambassador Mark H. Gitenstein). I feel so free... and so insulted.

2009mary

Well, yesterday I was passing and saw the protesters. They were in total around max. 30-35 people and were two TV stations: Realitatea and Antena.

The protesters were making scandalous declaration: "Demisia!" - that means in English "Resigning!". For me it was unclear who to resign and why...

Just walking from Universitate until Piata Romana - around 1 km. - I saw and could listen a lot of Arabs... I was really shocked to discover so many Arabs in that area. It is not common, their main locations are near by Bucur Obor, or where a "gray" trade is developed. Another hint where you may find ARabs are the Exchange Houses. So,no connection with that area and those persons...

In conclusion, what I may say? There is in fact there are some connections between
1. the resignation- admission of Arafat in Romanian Government and the Arab Community;
2. those protesters, the two TV stations mentioned above and the Romanian opposition;
3. the lack of support coming from the common persons regarding this protest.

For Economist - please let us, the readers, discover who is writing the articles, This article is perfect and seems that is coming from the Romanian opposition.

It seems for me that Economist is a supporter of the Romanian opposition - shame- because this magazine would gain more if would present more relaxed the political events.

If Economist would develop in the next perios similar articles of course the Romanians will transform the Economist in a political debate - This is what is looking for Economist? There is a problem with the traffic that Economist is using such an ordinary method to attract visitors from Romania?

I always consider that the quality is not necessary related with quantity - therefore I would encourage Economist to look for, as it was before, quality and please publish economical articles and reviews, not political articles.

Radian in reply to 2009mary

As far as I understand, in your opinion the protesters (thousands and thousands, all over Romania!) are not only "paid" or "manipulated" but even more than that: they are part of the "Arab conspiracy"!

Don't you think that at least this assertion disqualifies your whole comment?

ad_ad in reply to 2009mary

It seems to me that you are a Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) worshiper. Today. Tomorrow, with another ruling party, you'll have a different opinion. You know who has to go and why. Most Romanians hate Basescu, despise Boc (the Presidential speaking-tube) and Udrea- Basescu's protégée.
One of the most intelligent banner: "Vă rugăm să ne iertaţi, nu producem cât furaţi!" ("Please forgive us, we do not produce as much as you can stole!")

Radian in reply to Coasta de Azorel

Have you ever heard of Popoviciu and a certain penthouse? Can you see here any connection with our topic? Please, stop using the straw man fallacy. The fact is : there are some nationwide protests triggered by Mr Basescu's authoritarian behavior , the lack of any social dialogue, the emasculation of Parliament, an unbearable corruption, arrogance, governmental incompetence and nepotism. Try to see the whole picture. It is not do difficult. Under the above mentioned circumstances, 80 percent of Romanian are suffering an unprecedented collapse in living standards, while members of the ruling coalition and their camarila are now more prosperous than before the economic crisis.

Coasta de Azorel in reply to ad_ad

Blah, blah. Last time I checked Romanians hated everything (from communism to honest work). They hate corruption, yet they subsidise it and they won't waste any opportunity to place a bribe such that they can push their son/daughter to a better job.

ad_ad in reply to Coasta de Azorel

Who made the rules of the game? The parent who knows that, without that bribe, his child wouldn't have a job? Or the brave leaders, who hires as ministers men and women that graduated high school at 24 years old or used to dance on tables?

Radian in reply to Coasta de Azorel

Do you refer to yourself as "a bribe payer for a better job"? Or do you refer to EBA, maybe? Unfortunately, there are such cases and, unfortunately again, their number increased in Basescu's second term as president. This fact is a reason yet for the PU protesters to ask for president's resignation.

Max02 in reply to ad_ad

Yes,you are right,we hate Basescu,he is the shame of Romania! We hate the speaking-tube Boc :)),we hate Udrea wich is...,we hate PD-L. They all are sharks,robbers,burglars!:( Robin Hood,help us,please!!

Faraway222 in reply to 2009mary

Oh dear, I can see you're a bit too confused. Well I'm pretty sure they're asking the President and the Prime Minister's resignation, go figure!
I see, it's quite difficult to comprehend it, but with time, you might!
And I also think you live in a different universe, where Basescu is a god and Udrea is a godess. OMG!!!

eu****** in reply to Radian

As I saw I may say: there were a limited number of people, approximate 30-35 people.

I do not know how many people were in other locations.

I only commented what I saw and could hear!

There is not a pleasure to see the links from Arafat and the Arab World. Did you deal with them? I did!

eu****** in reply to Faraway222

Well,except "Demisia!" I did not see anything else, then what should I imagine?

Were there other demands? No. Why?

Is Democracy so wonderful in Romania and if Basescu or/and Boc are resigning than everything will be OK? No.

So, please be mature! Refresh your face and keep on going!

It is a shame to publish so weak articles inside Economist!
What a shame...It's like other Romanian newspapers, except the fact that are in English...

Next time I would like to publish pictures as I would like to support my comments!

Have a good time and enjoy your readings!

Observatot

The closing phrase ("Romania's winter of discontent has few chances of turning into a glorious summer") is fine but the Economist approach fails again to see that the protesters are either manipulated by the USL coalition (the so-called "centre-left" in the article, another error), or fake protesters, paid by the opposition. Besides, I am just curious to learn which poll results does the author follow and quote: 60% support for the USL alliance is such an overly rated estimation that even the opposition parties do not mention it any longer...

Radian in reply to Observatot

Olala, I think that you are a Liberal Democrat propagandist. Am I right?
My God, the same dirty propaganda as the one against the anti-communist protesters of the 90s. "Either manipulated, or paid". LOL! BTW, by the same Mr. Ion Ratiu, isn't it? I understand, you cannot change your repertoire, but take a look at protesters. They are all so inventive, so creative because their protest against the corruption, incompetence and nepotism of this regime is really genuine. Regarding the second issue, the opinion polls and their results, you should have learned so far that the USL leads all polls with 60 percent support., while the Liberal Democtrats barely gather 10 percent support. Do you know why? Because the Romanians are neither worms nor a clumsy slum."

I.Vlad in reply to Radian

Interesting fact. Can you show me two reliable sources to sustain your statement that USL is leading with 60 %?
On the other hand ,I agree that everyone had to face some hard times; not just us.If you think about it ,it is 50% our guilt.25% our politicians and 25% the international economic situation.

Chris Tee in reply to Observatot

Dear Seen-Them-All,

You might have noticed that many protesters (whom the president could not help labeling "illegitimate" just after admitting they are entitled to protest and that millions more sympathize with those in the street - forget the polls, this is true) are wholeheartedly genuine hence worthy of respect, whatever the nature of their request. It was only 11 degrees minus in Bucharest yesterday evening, yet some 200 'fake protesters' have taken again to the street. You may call them "worms", "slumdogs" or "misfits", fact is that the wave will keep growing. Look out, spring is close.

Radian in reply to I.Vlad

Yes, of course, it is my pleasure to answer your questions.

For exemple, the USL ranks first in the voters’ preferences according to a poll conducted by the Infopolitic Study and Research Centre (CSCI) between 20 and 23 of January 2012:

USL - 59 percent support;
PDL - 11 percent support.
(Margine of error - plus or minus 3 percent).

On the other hand, the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy (IRES) poll ordered by the Romanian Association for Evaluation and Strategy and conducted on the 7th and 8th of December 2011 revealed that two-thirds of Romanians say their income is insufficient for basic expenses and 79 percent consider that the country is going in wrong direction.

Moreover, 74 percent of Romanians believe that the only solution able to put Romania back on track is a new Cabinet. (Margin of error of plus/minus 2.6 percent)

Do not trust the LIBERAL DEMOCRATS' propaganda anymore. Instead, look at these figures because in these figures you can see the pure truth.

Coasta de Azorel in reply to Radian

Regarding your remark that protesters are so creative:
Where do all those retired people have A3-format colour printers to print their slogans? Do they know how to use a computer in the first place? Do they have a computer if they are so poor? He he he... I don't think protests are so spontaneous...

Radian in reply to Coasta de Azorel

Not at all!

Your lack of respect for those people from Piata universitatii is so typical for Basescu's regime Remeber; they called them "worms".

You believe that the protesters are not able use a computer?! Wake-up, we are in the year 2012, in a EU member state, in its capital city.

ad_ad in reply to Coasta de Azorel

What makes my observation irrational? You do realize that you can go to any store that has a PC and a printer and pay 1 leu (0.2 Euro) for an A4 (colour)?
By the way, should I understand that you graduate The PDL Summer School?

guest-iinwmml in reply to I.Vlad

Hello,
The president and his team destroyed so many things in Romania.
His party has no value, no beliefs, their gold is only the corruption.
I want people to WAKE UP and stop voting them and show ATTITUDE everytime abuses happen. Other countries fight for higher salaries etc, while we firstly fight against malignancy.
To stupid peolpe who post stupid comments about the Romanians who "are ready to kill for 15 euros". There is not a more stupid thing to do than GENERALISE on this scale. You reduce a population of 22 millions to some law breakers. More than half of them are gypsys, a population that has a Romanian citizenship, but rarely assimilated the true Romanian values, nor they are ancestors of Romania.

About Eastern approaches

Eastern approaches deals with the economic, political, security and cultural aspects of the eastern half of the European continent. It incorporates the long-running "Europe.view" weekly column. The blog is named after the wartime memoirs of the British soldier Sir Fitzroy Maclean.

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