The protests were ignited by legitimate protests against the privatisation of the Romanian health care system but the protests are now as much about the health of the nation as they are about healthcare.
Romania has been the victim of a gradual, but systematic destruction of democratic institutions and mechanisms, in a manner strikingly similar to that in Hungary.
The President Traian Basescu has fallen short of his constitutional oath to remain politically neutral. The Government are timidly following his attempts to override democratic checks and balances.
So far there has been;
- the postponement of the local elections until the national parliamentary elections
- attempts to privatise the healthcare system
- 14 national laws adopted without any public debate
- significant changes to the legal code without any parliamentary oversight
- openly acknowledged and unpunished electoral fraud in regional elections
As leader of the Party of European Socialists (PES), I call on the Romanian Government to respect basic democratic standards and urge them to commit to a technical system which allows for free and fair elections at the earliest available opportunity.
Sergei Stanishev
PES President
For further information please contact Brian Synnott on +32 474 98 96 75 (brian.synnott@pes.org)
