Bucharest sees mass demo against austerity

"On 19 may the atmosphere in Bucharest's Victory Square was not only marked by the despair of people who have been pushed to the brink of insolvency by wages and pension cuts, but by another equally strong feeling of contempt," remarks Gândul. In its front-page report, the daily notes that protesters who came from all over the country, many of them brandishing portraits of Nicolae Ceauşescu, have been angered by "the negligence, which led the government to cover up the crisis and avoid taking the necessary measures, before suddenly announcing a draconian austerity package." With regard to the country's citizens, the government acted "like a doctor who failed to take the necessary steps to prevent gangrene until the only remaining choice was amputation or death."

The governmental measures, which Gândul describes as "an absolute priority," are to be implemented in exchange for a loan granted by the International Monetary Fund a year ago. News of the demonstration, which is the largest protest to have taken place in the country since the revolution of 1989, eclipsed reports of a parliamentary vote on anew lustration bill, which will now make it impossible for former members of the communist party to be appointed to certain kinds of public office.