National Press Review, January 10

The newspapers of the start of the week comment on the current political issues – namely the possible approach of the social-democrats to the already announced alliance between liberals and conservatives.

"The Social-Democratic Party is required along with the Communist Party and the National Liberal Party" - the Jurnalul Naţional headlines.

Victor Ponta proposes that the social-democrats and the new center-right Alliance should form, in turn, a political alliance registered in court.

On his personal blog – the Jurnalul Naţional continues- the SDP leader wants the three opposition parties to commit themselves not to collaborate with Traian Băsescu and the LDP.

The Evenimentul Zilei also visited Victor Ponta's blog.

In the offer of collaboration launched there, the President of the Social Democratic Party declares himself head of the working group regarding economic and social measures, and passed the constitutional reform to the Liberal National Party and the Communist Party – the newspaper argues under the title "Ponta assigned himself prime minister of the SDP-NLP-CP alliance".

Finally, the Gândul brings opinions from the opposing camp.

LDP Deputy Sever Voinescu states that the NLP-CP Alliance cancels any chance of rapprochement between the NLP and the Democratic Party.

"They call themselves liberals, but the combination with the Communist Party shows that there are many people with `left` principles at the leadership of the National Liberal Party"- Sever Voinescu believes.

The interview of the day appears, at the beginning of the week, in the Evenimentul Zilei.

"We are not willing to bargain"- says the French ambassador Henri Paul for the Bucharest daily.

France is not apposed to Romania`s accession to the Schengen area as it would have missed an important contract for the construction of the reactors in Cernavodă, as rumour has it in Bucharest.

There`s corruption in Romania, organized crime in Bulgaria, therefore the accession of the two countries is premature – explains, in the Evenimentul Zilei, Ambassador Henri Paul.

Also in an interview, this time in the Jurnalul Naţional, we descend from the high European political sphere into the everyday street reality.

There are enough drivers on the roads who cut your way without any shame, swear or beat you to death because you went to slow on the zebra crossing, devastate your car or point a gun at you only if they feel like you have bothered them in traffic.

The Traffic Police Chief, Lucian Diniţă declares, in the Jurnalul Naţional: "The key to tighten punishment for them is finding an explicite definition of the term aggressiveness".

It would be desireable that violent behaviour in traffic should be punished even if it did not lead to a fight and, therefore, to injuring any of the parties – policeman Lucian Diniţă also says – but … how could you prove that? Words are not enough, so a new Highway Code should be well thought so that aggression is punished by the book.

Translated by: Manuela Stancu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University