CANDIDACY About one thousand Social Democrats from the PSD, number one in
the government coalition in Bucharest, have today convened in a congress to
launch the candidacy of Romania’s incumbent Prime Minister Viorica Dancila for
the presidential election in November. The country’s incumbent president Klaus
Iohannis has also announced his intention to run for a second term in office
with support from the main opposition party, the National Liberal Party. Dan
Barna, leader of the opposition USR-PLUS, will also run for the presidential
seat and so will Calin Popescu Tariceanu, leader of ALDE, part of the present
ruling coalition. Also during the congress, the PSD’s National Executive
Committee has also adopted proposals for the ministers the Prime Minister is going
to submit to president Iohannis on Monday. So, the party’s secretary general,
Mihai Fifor will be heading the Interior Ministry, Ana Birchall will become
Deputy Prime Minister for Strategic Partnerships while MP Iulian Iancu will be
Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs. Dana Girbovan had been proposed for the
Justice Ministry, but the move attracted a lot of heat from the opposition who
recalled that Girbovan was a staunch supporter of the justice reforms that had
been proposed by PSD and ALDE with the alleged intention to gain control over
the magistrates and hinder the anti-graft fight.
PLEDGE Countries that suffered at the hands of the
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union have pledged to take action for raising
awareness about Europe’s totalitarian past, 80 years since the pact that
triggered WWll had been signed. Foreign Ministers from Poland, Lithuania,
Latvia, Estonia and Romania have said in a joint statement that the memory of
the victims prompts them to promote the historical justice. On Friday, a day devoted
to commemorating the victims of Fascism and Communism, Romania’s president
Klaus Iohannis conveyed a message underlying that honoring these victims should
not be restricted only to commemoration but firm action must also be taken in
accordance with the principles of authentic democracy. The head of the Romanian
state went on to say that given the present-day attempts to downplay the crimes of fascism and communism, firmly
denouncing the two ideologies is a must. Russia has this week made public what
it believes to be the pact’s original documents signed on August 23rd
1939, under which Russia and the Nazi Germany pledged not to attack each other.
The pact also contained a secret protocol, under which the territories of other
countries were divided between the two powers. While Poland and the Baltic
states had been entirely occupied, Romania was forced by an ultimatum in 1940
to cede to Moscow its eastern territories, which today belong to the Republic
of Moldova and Ukraine.
FESTIVAL
The International Golden
Stag Music Awards in Brasov, southern Romania will tonight designate its
winners. 12 artists from 10 countries have been vying for the trophy. The first
two days were devoted to performances. In observance of a half-century
tradition, besides songs from their own repertoire, the participants also had
to perform a Romanian tune. Sunday is devoted to traditional Romanian music,
with its most representative artists, including fiddlers. The Golden Stag Music
Awards kicked off in 1968 and has so far had 18 editions, the last one in 2018,
when it celebrated half a century since its debut.
SHOW Over 100 thousand visitors are today expected
to attend the Bucharest International Air Show (BIAS 2019) in the north of the
Romanian capital city. This edition has been devoted to 50 years of activity of
the Henri Coanda international airport and 15 years since Romania’s entry into
NATO. The event has brought together over 100 planes, and includes aerobatics
and other feats of spectacular flying.
(translated by bill)