FT: Romania has a government that is at best dysfunctional

A miserable few weeks for Romania look set to get even worse: Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu warned that the economy would probably contract by more than 1.5 per cent this year, a comment by 'Financial Times' reads. The downbeat outlook reflects Bucharest's decision to raise value-added tax in order to keep within a 6.8 per cent budget deficit target agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

The paper is very critical towards the government and the head of state. The report signed by Chris Bryant points to the fact that Romania was hit by floods, but the main problem is the government. "On top of all this, Romania has a government that is at best dysfunctional, and at worst incompetent. Traian Basescu, the country's bull-in-a-chinashop president, spoke out again this weekend against his government's decision to raise VAT, proposing a taxation of pensions instead."

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