Romanian newspapers comment on the latest opinion poll in advance of the general elections due to take place this Sunday, when the opposition Social Democrats appear to have gained some ground. The effects of economic turmoil on Romanian salaries are also discussed, while one paper turns eye on culture and reports that director Robert Dornhelm, of Romanian origin, has launched the screen version of La Boheme.

A week before parliamentary elections, Romanian pollster Insomar on Monday published an opinion poll which for the first time changes the order of the top parties by popularity in the country, while also measuring the changes of some key candidates.

Cotidianul notes that five days before elections, the alliance of the Social Democrats (PSD) and the Conservative Party (PC) came first in voters' intentions, according to the poll by Insomar, ordered by news television Realitatea TV.

The PSD-PC alliance are supported by 35% in elections for both the Senate and the House of Deputies, while the second most popular party, the Democratic Liberals (PD-L) would gain 32% of the votes.

The paper writes that only two weeks ago PD-L were leading with 36.6% of voters intentions and were followed by PSD-PC with 31.9%. That means that the PSD-PC alliance gained 3 percentage points while PD-L lost five percentage points in a fortnight.

The governing Liberals (PNL) also rose from 17.5% to 21%, according to the poll. The only other party to reach the threshold necessary to enter Parliament are the Hungarian Democrats (UDMR) with 5%, according to the Insomar poll, which places the far-right Greater Romania Party (PRM) and the populist New Generation Party (PNG) with only 3%, below the threshold.

According to Evenimentul zilei, the same poll shows that Liberal PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu comes first in the electoral college close to Bucharest where he runs for a seat in Parliament, but would only earn 34.6% of the votes, way lower than the 51% that would insure he would get a term without the stress of the redistribution process.

The same paper writes that PD-L secretary general Vasile Blaga has a confortable advantage in his college for the Senate, where he is credited with 42.6% of the votes, while PSD leader Mircea Geoana is credited with 66.8% of votes in the countryside constituency where he's running for office.

Meanwhile, Gandul reports that chances for Romanian employees to earn higher salaries next year are very slim, considering the economic troubles these days. That comes as a shock for many as Romanian employees have been used to salary rises by some 10% annually over the past several years. The paper says the people with highest salaries would be most affected by economic troubles.

And Evenimentul Zilei pays special interest in the international launch of the big screen version of the La Boheme opera, under the direction of Robert Dornhelm, the Romanian-origin director who was nominated for an Oscar in 1978. The paper publishes an extensive interview with Dornhelm who says that should he win an Oscar some day, it would also be an Oscar for Romania.