National Press Review, January 11

‘The gasoline is testing the strength of the boycott’ - the ROMÂNIA LIBERĂ headlines, and announces the decision of taxi drivers to boycott gasoline stations tomorrow. ‘Tired of the investigations with no results of Competition Council and the Government`s lack of response to the uncontrolled growth of fuel prices, taxi drivers take into their own hands the addressing of the issue, after fuel has reached the level of rick EU countries, where purchasing power is clearly superior. In protest at this, taxi drivers will not buy fuel tomorrow. ‘

On the problem with fuel, the official of the National Bank say categorically that they do not understand the pricing mechanism.’ This dynamic of prices for gasoline and diesel is incomprehensible, given that we still have internal extractions’, the advisor of NBR Governor, Adrian Vasilescu, argued, after a similar claim was made in December by Governor Mugur Isărescu himself. The central bank is concerned about a possible rise in inflation caused by higher fuel prices. ‘The price of fuels, a major concern for Boc’ – also headlines the EVENIMENTUL ZILEI, which asked yesterday for information on this matter from the Ministry of Finance.

The case of the five children infected with a virus in Slobozia District Hospital, is enlarged upon in the daily GÂNDUL, which extends the investigation and learns that over 8,200 Romanians have caught an infection in the hospital in 2010, according to preliminary data provided by the Ministry of Health adviser, Geza Molnar. The data, even preliminary, are contradicted by doctors, who state that the official number of infections is not the real one, as most medical units wary to declared the real figures, for fear of sanctions. Finally, the newspaper warns us about the diseased we should be aware of when in a hospital.

The ADEVĂRUL makes disclosures about, I quote, ‘the Croesus estate of a customs officer, the director of the Port Infrastructure Division, Eugen Bogatu, who was arrested yesterday by the NDA for favouring the felon in the UCM Reşiţa file. He is described by the paper as being richer that his own name: former director of the Constanta port customs until 2000, Bogatu owns 28 pieces of land in several parts of the country, from Eforie Nord and Sinaia to Băile Tuşnad, a few luxury hotels in the mountains, a sanatorium spa and a hotel in Eforie Nord, many other villas and apartment buildings. While he was, until yesterday, high state clerk for the Port Infrastructure Division, he also holds the position of director in four of his companies.

The JURNALUL NAŢIONAL writes about another corruption business: ‘A woman lawyer has received 400,000 euros from legal advice on expropriations for the Lugoj – Deva highway. But the lawyer is the concubine of a head of department at the Regional Directorate of Roads and Bridges Timiş, Mircea Purcel, who, as he declared for the newspaper, sees no problem in this collaboration.

The recent retreat of the opposition, who decided to close the ranks and come together in political and electoral alliances against the current power, is diversely reflected in today`s newspapers. Thus, the GÂNDUL publishes fragments from the stormy meeting of the liberals, where the little anti- Băsescu alliance was established. From the same article you can learn, I quote: ‘how Crin Antonescu put the objectors of the NLP and the CP alliance to silence. On the same topic, the ADEVĂRUL writes about the positions of those who contest the recently closed alliance, among which the most virulent are former Prime Minister Călin Popescu Tăriceanu and the NLP Vice President, Ludovic Orban. Varujan Vosganian also believes that the NLP has given up too much over the conservatives when he concluded this alliance.

The JURNALUL NAŢIONAL presents in details the substance of the protocol of the Center-Right Alliance, which would be entered in court today, as well as the intention of the SDP to join both the clotting initiative of the opposition against the power and the transformation of this initiative into a political platform in governance and also achieving political objectives in the medium and long term.

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