Le Monde: incoherent policies and institutionalized corruption drag Romania towards failure

Caught in an economic crisis whirl, Romania is struggling to face the new social reality. The government took some drastic measures to cut costs and the financial collapse pressured the government to take up a loan from the IMF to pay salaries and pensions, French daily Le Monde writes in its electronic edition.

The incoherent governmental coalition, lead by the Democrat Liberals of President Basescu and the Social Democrats lead to failure, French journalists underline. As Romanian authorities pledged to cut public spending by 1 billion euro, hundreds of budget employees were laid off or, at best, their benefits were cut.

Some 150,000 state employees will have to be laid off, of a total of 1.4 million, Le Monde reads. Romania is therefore, in an impasse which pressured politicians to loan from the IMF to be able to pay salaries and pensions.

In this context, Romanians continue to be shocked at the politicians’ urge to lavishly spend public money, in a country where corruption is institutionalized.