Romania: Press review - February 25.
Bucharest, Feb 25 /Agerpres/ - Romania's national dailies of Thursday give main coverage to an important leader of the main opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD), which has promoted him to high public offices over the past years, pulling out of the party; the prospects for Romania's economic growth in the years ahead; the need to ration public spending; the deficit of IT specialists.
Romania libera reports in a front-page story that Cristian Diaconescu on Wednesday pulled out of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) without explanations or comments and joined the group of independent parliamentarians, which was set up by retired General Gabriel Oprea.
In reaction to the speculations over his resignation, Diaconescu stated that he is almost sure that a Social Democrat was involved in a ten-day monitoring of him. He also complained that although the situation could have been brought to an end by his colleagues, nobody stood by him, Adevarul remarks.
Curierul national says Diaconescu joining the independents has generated shock within the PSD.
Cotidianul announces that 'the de-structuring of the PSD has started,' while Gandul quotes Diaconescu as saying he will not come back to the PSD and that he would have joined the other opposition party, the National Liberal Party (PNL), had PNL chief Antonescu suggested him so when he spoke to him on Sunday evening.
Evenimentul zilei remarks that the third schism of the Left is threatening the PSD, and Romania libera attempts to find out to whom Diaconescu's leave will serve.
Adevarul quotes PSD chief Victor Ponta as having announced that next Monday he will table two motions to have Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu and Labour Minister Mihai Seitan dismissed.
'We will then see how many of my colleagues will vote for the motions, and so we will see who is in power and who is in the opposition. I do not think there could be a clearer test than this. The only thing in common between me and PM Boc is the conviction that these two ministers should be dismissed from office,' the paper quotes Ponta as saying.
Ziarul financiar says Romania's economic growth will resume in 2012 only. Unfortunately, the paper says, the level of debt will be huge. International Montary Fund (IMF) forecasts indicate that it will be in 2012 that Romania will be able to make up for the economic downfall triggered by the crisis, but banking analysts are more optimistic, saying Romania could see the 2008 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures achieved as early as 2011, and that will be possible including on a strengthened local currency, the leu (RON). The IMF has estimated that Romania's GDP will advance 1.3 percent in 2010, 4.7 percent in 2011 and 5.7 percent in 2012.
Curierul National quotes Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu as saying public spending is much more over employee efficiency and the level the Government could afford in order to secure medium and long-term sustainability, and that prevents investment in infrastructure or the healthcare system.
'Public spending in Romania is obviously far from efficient, exceeding what we can afford and what would secure medium and long-term sustainability,' Vladescu told a news conference on Wednesday. He added that for a limited deficit, the Government gets huge savings, which preclude the conduct of investment projects in infrastructure, agriculture or in improving the healthcare system.
Curentul reports that the European Commission might ask Romania to ban cyanide mining at Rosia Montana if a written statement initiated by Romanian MEPs Daciana Sarbu and Catalin Ivan concering this matter is signed by at least half of the members of the European Parliament within three months.
Gandul reports that a vast audit mission conducted since the second half of 2009 in all of Romania's counties revealed that 235,000 public employees were granted illicit pay bonuses in 2008 that incurred a total fraud of 249 million euros.
Cotidianul remarks that nearly half of the future unemployed negotiated between IMF and Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc will be teaching staff, and there is already an emergency ordinance in the making that provides for 15,000 pre-university teaching staff to be made redundant at the end of the current academic year.
The papers report that Romania is facing a deficit of IT specialists of nearly 20,000 people, as companies can no longer find the qualifications they require and more foreign investors are bracing up to enter Romania. Over the past weeks, nearly 1,000 people were hired by IT companies and the gap to 20,000 is explained by a shortage of well trained professionals in the country.
Evenimentul zilei carries the findings of a recent study conducted by PayLogic pay outsourcing and personnel management company indicating that the number of hires performed by private companies in January 2020 was 18 percent lower than in January 2009. AGERPRES
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