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A new coalition government appears to have been clinched in Romania. The smaller, progressive coalition partner disappears and a large, conservative partner comes to rule with the Liberals. This new coalition emerges after six months of power struggles within the Liberal Party (PNL).
Politicians rolling in the streets, no focus on vaccination
At the PNL, Florin Cîțu and Ludovic Orban were candidates for the position of party leader this spring. Cîțu (pronounced kutsoe) was prime minister at the time and Orban - no relation to - was the incumbent leader and president of the Chamber of Deputies. The press zoomed in plenty on the ensuing battle, which was eventually settled in Cîțu's favour at the party congress in August. Orban has since been expelled from the party.
As a by-product of this leadership struggle, any attention to the vaccination campaign disappeared from the government. Romania is not a country with an independent civil service that quietly keeps implementing policy when politicians roll down the street. Lack of political focus quickly leads to dilution of implementing measures. When the urban middle class was vaccinated at the beginning of the summer, the government should have intensified information and facilities especially in rural areas. It failed to do so and meanwhile anti-vaccination campaigns had free rein. Romania now dangles at the bottom of the European rankings (37% vaccinated on 20 November).
Coalition spat apart
Another consequence of the Liberal power struggle was that junior coalition partner USR became so angry with Prime Minister Cîțu at one point that they supported an opposition motion of no confidence in their own government. And then, of course, it was over. They were angry because the prime minister had sacked two USR ministers for flimsy reasons. And they disagreed with a new billion-dollar government fund for devolved governments because, as often happens in Romania, the destination of the money was discretionary. So the government could easily decide where the money went, in this case to PNL mayors who had to vote for Cîțu at the party congress.
Continuing with the PSD
Romania's largest party, the PSD, was in opposition but will now govern with the PNL and the tiny UDMR (Romanian Hungarians). The PSD is going full steam ahead as a protector of the less fortunate - pensions and benefits, they say, need a big increase. This extra spending is likely to weigh on the budget even more than now, as the proposed progressive tax system has never materialised in all the years the PSD has been in government. Furthermore, the PSD is not actively pro-vaccination, as a vocal part of the constituency is against it.
By: Johan Bouman
Photo: Flickr
