Credit crisis overshadows Romanian elections

The spectre of economic crisis hangs over this weekend’s election in Romania. The hoardings are out in the streets and the people are preparing to vote, but the talk is of financial downturn and the possible fall-out for Romania’s once-booming economy.

It is the opposition parties who are benefitting from the public’s disquiet. The Social Democrat PSD party and the Liberal Democrat PDL party are both expected to garner about 30 per cent of the vote as things stand at the moment. But it is unlikely they would form a coalition as they are political enemies. The PDL is the party of President Traian Basescu.

Liberal prime Minister Calin Tariceanu’s PNL party is only expected to get about 20 per cent of the vote making a coalition almost certain.

But the present prime minister and the president certainly don’t see eye to eye and it would be down to the latter to appoint the government.

So a tricky political situation for a country battling limit the repercussions of the credit crunch.

It’s car industry is suffering just like others worldwide.

Dacia and the Michelin tyre factories in Romania have announced imminent forced closures as car sales slump.

For an economy which doubled in size in four years on the back of record foreign investment, fuelled by easy cash from abroad, it threatens to be a hard landing whatever measures a new government may take.

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