Anti-Government Protests Ease in Romania

Snow and chilly winds at the weekend deterred many Romanians from taking to the streets, with only a few hundred gathering in central Bucharest to call on the government to resign.

“I've been here for ten days in a row and will come as long as is necessary," one man in his fifties said.

"The government and all the politicians have to leave as they only waste public money and appear to get wealthier,” he continued, adding: "I can’t afford to live on my current salary, which has been slashed by a quarter.”

Small and generally good natured in recent days, the protests are expected to continue this week; several trade unions already announced their own public rallies across the country.

Prime Minister Emil Boc made his first public comment on the rallies on Saturday, saying he understood the unhappiness of many people, but tough anti-crisis measures remained necessary.

“We have no option but to keep the situation under control and to cut public costs. We are right as long as Romania achieves economic stability," he said.

President Traian Basescu, whose resignation is sought by many of the protesters, has made no comment so far.

Analysts say the protests show the strength of popular discontent with the government’s austerity measures, but doubt they will lead to radical changes in policies.

“The government is struggling to hang on to power before a general election due late in the year but the protests are unlikely to force early polls or change policies,” political analyst Mirel Palade says.

“But, there will probably soon be a reshuffle in government, or even a change of prime minister, to ease public discontent,” he added. 

The spark behind the recent rallies, which began January 12, was a proposed health law that would have brought major changes to the health system.

The demonstrations began as a show of support for a deputy minister who quit in protest over the controversial draft healthcare legislation, but soon broadened into an attack on President Basescu and the government’s austerity measures. In response, the government a day later scrapped the unpopular bill.

One week ago, weekend clashes between demonstrators and riot police left nearly 60 injured and police say nearly 300 face criminal investigations.

Romania experienced a very slow economic recovery in 2011, with growth estimated at 1.5 per cent of GDP, and the public is far from feeling the effects of an economic comeback.

Romania is dependent on a €20 billion rescue package from the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank. It obtained the loan in May 2009 in exchange for agreeing to push through austerity measures aimed at taming the country’s yawning deficit.

In July 2010, the government cut civil servants' wages by 25 per cent, while thousands of state jobs were axed and VAT was increased by 5 per cent to 24 per cent.

The government says it had no other option to keep the economy afloat, but critics say that while other European countries are trying to find alternative sources to cover their deficits, Romania is relying too exclusively on IMF help.