Bucharest (AFP) – In a working-class neighborhood of Bucharest, pensioners like Ana Sandu wait for the afternoon to buy food when prices are lower, as inflation dampens hopes of a better life in the EU state heading into key elections. Traditionally loyal to the Social Democrats, the 65-year-old Sandu has little faith that any government will offer a remedy. She hinted at favoring far-right contender Calin Georgescu in a presidential runoff vote on December 8. Living on a monthly pension of about $400, suffering from diabetes, and with a husband diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Sandu depends on money sent by her son working abroad. Romania is one of Europe’s poorest countries, and she spends more than 300 lei ($60) just on medicine, and at least $150 on electricity, water, and other utilities.
“I don’t even think about buying meat. I buy vegetables,” she said. “I come to the bazaar in the afternoon because it’s cheaper,” she added, showing a bag of grapes that cost just 6 lei ($1). While Romania’s inflation has fallen from 10 percent last year, it remains high, with consumer prices at an annual rate of 5.1 percent in October, according to the EU statistics office. Far-right politicians are banking on voter anger about the economy amid the political uncertainty following Georgescu’s shock win in the first round of the presidential election. Romania is bracing for a legislative election on Sunday, along with the runoff vote between Georgescu, an admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a pro-European centrist contender. Romania’s constitutional court could still cancel the December 8 vote.
“All these elections are very important for the future and for solving one of the key economic problems of Romania these days, that is inflation,” Cristian Valeriu Paun, a professor of international finance at the University of Economic Studies in Bucharest, told AFP. He explained that inflation is deeply linked to Romania’s excessive deficit. The debt-to-GDP ratio is close to 55 percent now and worsening day by day. There are solutions like clamping down on the limitation of tax evasion and accelerating reforms, as well as market liberalization and privatization of state-owned companies, he said. “Unfortunately, all these logical solutions need more time than Romania has and a very determined government and parliament that could implement them with resolve.”
Radu Burnete, the executive director at the Concordia confederation of private companies in Romania, said the country’s budget deficit must be dealt with “urgently,” but added, “no candidate spoke openly about this elephant in the room.” According to Burnete, Georgescu’s first-round win was driven by economic woes and factors ranging from the poor quality of public services to the weak bureaucracy and poor management of state-owned companies. “As frustration mounted and mainstream candidates failed to convince, a new face became appealing to a large segment of the population, despite the complete lack of economic sense in their political platform,” he said. He stated that Romania’s future lies in the EU and NATO, but it must also better handle its economy. “Romania urgently needs reforms that require political will and commitment to navigate the current economic challenges,” he told AFP.
Back in the market, Adrian Dragnea, married with a three-year-old son, also wanted a better life. “We are not on the edge of survival, but certainly, this is not what we want out of life,” he said. The 39-year-old expressed his understanding that Romania’s economic problems would not be solved overnight. “We will go through a rough patch… People expect everything will be rosy in one day, but that’s a long-term thing,” he noted. “It’s certainly not easy to see others living from one day to the next in a precarious situation, but you can’t really help other than going to the polls and hoping for better.”
© 2024 AFP
