janvier 2012

On this very day, January 30, 2012, Romania commemorates 160 years since the birth of Ion Luca Caragiale. The Google-Doodle presents a graphic picture of him with an envelope in one corner - an innuendo to one of his most famous plays, The lost letter (O scrisoare pierduta). Though Caragiale earned his living variously as a journalist, translator, and prose writer (amongst others), he is best known for plays such as the aforementioned O scrisoare pierduta (1884), in which he satirised the vanity and smugness of the bourgeoisie.... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source: DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/Getty Images) Romania's president incumbent, Traian Basescu, spoke on national television last night for the first time since protests began almost two weeks ago, in defense of his government's tough austerity measures. See speech HERE in Romanian. The measures suffered in Romania have been immensely strict and, just for the record, Forbes Magazine reported earlier this week that the national GDP of both Hungary and Romania combined is about equal to that of Greece. "Brutal and unthinkable in a... [Lire la suite]

Following a comment on yesterday's blogpost, Corina Grigorica answers the question: "Why is it seen as shameful to make an alliance with PSD but not with a party that included Virgil Magreanu (PD)?" Immediately after the revolution, the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) did an about turn and called itself FSN (The Front of National Salvation). At first, Iliescu, head of this formation, said they were going to organize free elections WITHOUT PARTICIPATING. At the same time, PNl and PNT (survivors of parties pre-communist who were almost... [Lire la suite]