"I believe that Romania's President lacks clarity on the international level". Elsewhere in the news, Romanians save money by cutting their budget for culture. Last but not least, during the electoral campaign, the president of the Romanian National Liberal Party promised voters in South that he would take to court those "who stole" the money of "the underprivileged" or those who couldn't justify what happened with the money from the IMF.
Cotidianul reads "I believe that Romania's President lacks clarity on the international level", the leader of the Socialist and Democratic Progressive Alliance Group from the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, stated. The German indicated that Traian Basescu only went to Brussels for the EU summits, while presidents of the EU member states met frequently, regardless their political affiliation. He added that Basescu's claim that one of Romania's parliamentary chambers will move to Brussels after the Lisbon Treaty is enforced is "one of Mr. Basescu's secrets".
Ex-presidential advisor on foreign policy Andrei Plesu said, in an interview for Gandul, that the President was not valuing other people's opinions according to their profession, but tended to give way to his own opinions. According to Plesu, Romania's foreign policy lacked firmness. He opinionated that Basescu was not comfortable in protocol situations of diplomatic convention with his homologues, a "personal limit that has become state policy". Plesu says this is reflected on the investors the country attracts and on the geopolitical position. According to him, the Moldovan issue was not being handled in the best possible way.
Basescu didn't not honour Vladimir Putin's invitation in April 2008. In an interview for Al-Jazeera in 2006, he called Palestine a "state", despite the fact that it is not recognised as such by the United Nations. Additionally, Romania's relations with the US was excellent under the Bush administration, but the doors of the White House closed when Obama came to power. In response, the Romanian President refused to attend the US National Day festivities in Bucharest.
Romanians save money by cutting their budget for exhibitions, theatre and movies, according to the Cultural Consumption Barometer launched by the Centre for Cultural Studies and Research, Evenimentul Zilei reads. The cultural consumption for the first half of 2009 recorded the lowest level in the last five years. The Romanian Culture minister Theodor Paleologu claims it is all due to the economic crisis. The music buyers’ percentage dropped from 63% in 2008 to 30% this year. The research slowed down by 20%, theatre tickets sold 15% less and cinema tickets attracted 17% less customers. In the latter case, the infrastructure of the movie theatres is also to blame, according to the Research Centre's manager Liviu Chelcea.
Book buyers have not been put off that easily: their number decreased from 51% in 2008 to 45% in 2009. But visits paid to museums or exhibitions dropped 20%, the lowest level of the last five years. The research indicates that people in Romania have been looking for free concerts and entertainment paid by local councils. According to the study, 44% of the interviewees did not spend anything on culture for the period the study was carried on, namely the first half of 2008 and the first 2009 semester. Spending on clothes, food and labour-saving devices was also reduced. However, Romanians paid more for mobile phones and MP3 Players. The research involved 1,100 interviewees on a national level.
During the electoral campaign, the president of the Romanian National Liberal Party Crin Antonescu promised voters in Craiova (South) that he would take to court those "who stole" the money of "the underprivileged" or those who cannot justify what happened with the money from the IMF, Romania Libera informs. According to Romanian press agency NewsIn, Crin Antonescu made another electoral promise, while launching an attack to the incumbent President: Antonescu aims to do "what Basescu has never done", namely to form a Government "with honest people, backed by the Parliament". He referred to a Cabinet where the PM, Negoita, will not be related to the Economy minister, Adriean Videanu.
Crin Antonescu claimed he would not include in the Government people that couldn't explain where the IMF money have gone, and where the money promised to the retired, professors and teachers, the subventions for agriculture and medicine were. Antonescu promised the voters in Craiova a president that has never been communist, did not steal, lie or owe anyone.
