The Week – September 21-25

Roxana Vasile, 26.09.2020, 14:00

On Sunday,
September 27, Romanians will hit the polls to vote in the first local election
organized with the strict observance of health safety regulations. Candidates
are vying for one of the 41 positions of presidents of county councils, 3,200
mayor seats, 1,300 county councilmen and 40,000 local councilmen positions. Due
to the coronavirus pandemic, the mandates of local officials had been postponed
by another six months. There will be a single round of elections, which means
voter turnout will be key, analysts have argued. In previous years, the voter
turnout average was 50%. This year, the percentage might be even lower, amidst
fears of infection. Authorities say all the necessary measures are in place,
allowing people to cast their votes safely.
The parties leading opinion polls are the Social-Democratic Party in
opposition, which won most mandates in the previous local election, and the
National Liberal Party in power. The
Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance is gaining ground, its voters disgruntled
with both aforementioned parties. This Sunday’s election is seen as a test for
the December 6 legislative election.

COVID-19

September has
presented the authorities with numerous challenges: the start of a new school
year, the reopening of theatres, cinemas and restaurants and people generally
returning to work after the summer holidays. This week the authorities
continued to raise public awareness as to the importance of strictly observing
health safety measures. Wednesday saw a new record-high number of infections
reported within the span of 24 hours: 1,767 against 25,000 tests. The national
infection rate has gone up to 0.8%. However, this rate is higher in many
counties and cities. Overall, the number of infections is close to 120,000.
Some 95,000 patients have recovered and 4,600 people have died to the virus.
According to official estimates, there are under 20,000 active cases presently
at national level.

Resignation

The head of
the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT),
Giorgiana Hosu, stepped down on Thursday night after her husband, Dan Hosu, the
former chief of the Department for combating the trafficking of migrants, was
handed a suspended prison sentence of three years. He was charged with
incitement to the illegal use of a computer system and the use of classified
information. The Justice Ministry announced that the Superior Council of
Magistracy has already taken notice of Mrs. Hosu’s resignation. The Council had
issued a negative opinion when interviewing Giorgiana Hosu for the position.
Giorgiana Hosu said her stepping down is meant to safeguard the credibility of
DIICOT from a situation unrelated to its activity. In other news, the head of
the Romanian Gendarmerie, Bogdan Enescu, has been indicted by anti-corruption
prosecutors in a case where he is accused of abuse of office.

Controversial
measures

The political
fight between the Liberal Government and the Social-Democrat-controlled
Parliament continued this week in Bucharest. The Constitutional Court this week
ruled in favor of a notification filed by Parliament, which means the
Government will have to double child benefits, based on a piece of legislation
the Social-Democrats passed in 2019. The measure was supposed to take effect in
January. At the time the Government said the budget cannot sustain the measure,
so it passed an emergency decree postponing its implementation. This summer the
Government announced the increase of child benefits would be spaced-out in five
stages until 2022. Despite the Court’s decision, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban
said his decision still stands. Another bone of contention this week was the
40% increase in pensions, which was supposed to take effect on September 1. The
Liberals have promised they would use all legal means at their disposal to
block this law, as the economy cannot sustain this burdening measure. The
Social-Democrats claim the money is there to help, and the increase in pensions
will not deepen the budget deficit. Parliament therefore this week passed a
budget adjustment law which is fundamentally different from what the Liberals
had submitted, based on a 14% increase in pensions.

Halep wins Rome tournament

Simona Halep,
world no. 2, this week won her first Internazionali BNL d’Italia title after
defeating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, the defending champion in
Rome, who withdrew due to medical problems in the second set. Halep had won the
first set 6-nil. This is Simona’s 22nd title of her career, with
wins reported in Doha, Shenzhen, Dubai, Indian Wells, Madrid, Montreal,
Wimbledon and Roland Garros. The win in Rome has prompted bookmakers to dub
Halep favorite to win the Roland Garros Grand Slam this year. Matches in the
main draw in Paris are due to start on September 27. Simona Halep is seeded
first in the women’s singles.

(Translated
by V. Palcu)