ICTChris Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 The Romanian government have backed down and rescinded a controversial decree that would have effectively amnestied a number of officials accused of corruption. This follows a series of huge protests in cities across the country, with a total of half a million demonstrators protesting against the decree. The decree was instituted by the newly elected government and meant that corruption offences only resulted in prison if the sum of money involved was over £38,000. The government still plans to push ahead with a decree to pardon a number of prisoners serving less than five years. This move would pardon leader of the governing Social Democratic party Liviu Dragnea, who was sentenced to two years, suspended, for voter fraud. Eastern Europe has seen a new wave of leaders in the last few years with corruption remaining a problem for many countries there, Romania has also experienced political upheaval in the last few years with several governments collapsing due to public protests and scandals. I wonder if the current protests will see another government fall and what can be done to break the cycle of low-turnout elections, protests and resignations. Any P&Bers ever bribed a Romanian politician? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 18 minutes ago, ICTChris said: The Romanian government have backed down and rescinded a controversial decree that would have effectively amnestied a number of officials accused of corruption. This follows a series of huge protests in cities across the country, with a total of half a million demonstrators protesting against the decree. The decree was instituted by the newly elected government and meant that corruption offences only resulted in prison if the sum of money involved was over £38,000. The government still plans to push ahead with a decree to pardon a number of prisoners serving less than five years. This move would pardon leader of the governing Social Democratic party Liviu Dragnea, who was sentenced to two years, suspended, for voter fraud. Eastern Europe has seen a new wave of leaders in the last few years with corruption remaining a problem for many countries there, Romania has also experienced political upheaval in the last few years with several governments collapsing due to public protests and scandals. I wonder if the current protests will see another government fall and what can be done to break the cycle of low-turnout elections, protests and resignations. Any P&Bers ever bribed a Romanian politician? As usual the story is a bit more shaded than it would appear, a lot of the offences are commonplace over here, like getting friends or relatives jobs, and some of the charges seem to be politically motivated. And the country is split between wealthy educated urbanites who are protesting, and the plebs, bit like the Trumpets or Brexiteers. http://www.euronews.com/2017/02/05/view-romania-s-anticorruption-implosion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Richelieu Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I have several Romanian friends, and they certainly do like a protest, more recently the Roșia_Montană protest... I'm not quite sure whether they have more corruption (e.g. jobs and contracts for the boys), but they're certainly more vociferous. Of course, during the Ceaușescu regime, nobody was allowed to protest about anything, so maybe they're making up for lost time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 Just now, Cardinal Richelieu said: I have several Romanian friends, and they certainly do like a protest, more recently the Roșia_Montană protest... I'm not quite sure whether they have more corruption (e.g. jobs and contracts for the boys), but they're certainly more vociferous. Of course, during the Ceaușescu regime, nobody was allowed to protest about anything, so maybe they're making up for lost time. They did execute Ceaucescu live on television on Christmas Day, I think that made up for a bit of the lost time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Richelieu Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 That's true. Mind you, Romanian TV was never up to much. They used to just show Hollywood films on the telly but re-dubbed into Romanian. Unfortunately, budgets were tight, so the same woman was used for all speaking parts, even action films. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/25/hollywood-film-communist-romania-video-dub-irina-margareta-nistor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 15 minutes ago, ICTChris said: They did execute Ceaucescu live on television on Christmas Day, I think that made up for a bit of the lost time. Before or after the Bond film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee Willie Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 44 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said: Before or after the Bond film? Never say die Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon EF Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Tyrants Aren't Forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Richelieu Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Dr No (vocal chords) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
German Jag Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 On 7.2.2017 at 11:13, Sergeant Wilson said: Before or after the Bond film? Not sure, but On Her Majesty's Secret Service wad the Bond film that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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