Romania Sets December General Elections

The Romanian government on Saturday approved a law setting the date for the next parliamentary elections on December 9.

Recent polls suggest that the ruling centre-left coalition of Prime Minister Victor Ponta is on course to win the elections.

For several months, Romania has experienced political turbulence as Ponta's government has battled to remove President Traian Basescu.

In a referendum on July 29, most voters favoured impeaching the President. However, as the turnout was below the 50-per-cent threshold needed for the result to be valid, the President has remained at his post.

The crisis has eroded the popularity of Ponta's Social Liberal Union, USL, but it is  still expected to win around 54 per cent of the vote in the election.

On the other hand, the same polls suggest that the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, PDL, will get about 23 per cent of the vote.

The PDL, with which Basescu has close links, lost most of its support due to its pursuit of unpopular economic measures in the last two years, when the party was in power, including cuts in public sector pay and an increase in VAT.

The party of populist Dan Diaconescu – a media mogul who wants deep tax cuts and higher wages and pensions – came third in the poll with around 10 per cent of the vote.

Analysts say that if the USL fails to win a clear parliamentary majority, Basescu could find himself in a stronger position because the President appoints the Prime Minister after an election.