What the newspapers say: November 27, 2009

Most newspapers on Friday read about the newest political scandal surrounding incumbent President Traian Basescu: during the 2004 electoral campaign, Basescu was taped hitting a child. For 2010, Romania needs to pay up 12 billion euro to bankers alone. Elsewhere in the news, Romania will donate A/H1N1 vaccines to the Republic of Moldova.

The newest political scandal surrounds incumbent President Basescu: most newspapers today read how Basescu hit a child during his 2004 electoral campaign, Cotidianul reads. Basescu declared that he never hit a child in his life and the tape forms a wrong perception: there was a desperate women whom he was talking and her child laughing.

However, Basescu declared that he does not wish to comment the quality of the tape. Realitatea TV, one of the biggest news televisions released that tape and urged Basescu to explain it.

Basescu declared that he does not recall the event and he will consult with others who attended that event back in 2004.

Gandul reads that the tape was released less than 24 hours after businessman Dinu Patriciu talked about such an incident in 2004. Patriciu declared that he saw Basescu hitting a child after the child hailed for Iliescu, his opponent.

Basescu declared for the news television, Realitatea TV that he cannot say whether the tape is real or not until he consults with those present at that time there. Nonetheless, businessman Patriciu talks about the event in detail and said that he witnessed the happening.

Patriciu said that he wanted to get hold of that tape for a long time, but that he did not manage. He came clean about it at news televisions, hoping that the tape will be released, which it has.

For 2010, Romania needs to pay bankers about 12 billion lei, Gandul reads, in order to pay a part of its public debt. The total debt amounts to 14.5 billion lei. Some of the debt might be covered with a new loan, but the interest rates will still have to be paid afterwards.

Institutes took over the biggest loan Romania took in the last 20 years from local bankers: 1.4 billion euro, the equivalent of 1.2% of GDP. The initial value announced for this loan was 500 million but bankers offered at the tender a little over 1.76 billion euro.

Even the interest rates are decent, about 4.25% compared to 5.25% on other credits. However, next year, loans will either be paid off, or new loans will be contracted to pay these ones.

Romania Libera reads about Romania’s decision to donate about 400,000 vaccines from the Romanian Cantancuzino Institute to the Republic of Moldova. In Romania, authorities launched the anti-A/H1N1 vaccination campaign.

The campaign targets, first of all, military and medical personnel and high school children and students. The first vaccines left the Health Directions towards the main regions affected by the virus – Bucharest and North Romania.

The first vaccination round covers for 250,000 vaccines of the total of 1,340,000 products. Vaccines will not be available to purchase from local drug stores, but they will be used in an organized manner.

By next year, the Institute will produce about 10 million vaccines worth about 50 million lei.