The president of the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER), Daniel Sandru, described Monday as "isolationist" the speech of Calin Georgescu, which would, in his opinion, mean, closing the borders and re-entry of the country into the sphere of influence of Russia, of the undemocratic world in general. "Calin Georgescu has an isolationist speech, which means closing the borders and re-entering ourselves in the sphere of influence of Russia, of the undemocratic world in general. This type of populist discourse introduces some fractures to the social mind, a boundary between the 'good ones' and the 'bad ones'. The seeds of this type of speech were sown immediately after 1990, when we had waves of populism that were fed by national-communist nostalgia, which, in its turn took over a discourse used during the interwar period by the Romanian fascists, by the Legionary Movement and by a part of, at least of the intellectual, religious and social environment. This discourse has come, behold, into the deep strata of society. It is wrong to let ourselves be seduced by the messianism of a savior who is always present in the political culture of Romania, whether we are talking about Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, he said, whether we are talking about Ion Antonescu or Nicolae Ceausescu; we must think very carefully about the future of the young generation, the future of our children, he said, when we let ourselves be seduced by a speech that is by no means a patriotic one but a tribal one, specific for extremist nationalism”, said Daniel Sandru, in a press release sent on Monday.IICCMER expresses concern about the rise in the second round of the presidential elections in Romania of a "populist" candidate who "fragilizes" the democratic position of the country and underlined the importance of the correct and honest teaching of Romanian history by teachers and the abandonment of a "triumphalist" approach on recent history. When we are tolerant of those who are intolerant of democracy and who use democratic procedures and means, and can eventually end up with the abolition of democracy itself, we realize how important it is to assume honestly the past, to know what was bad in our past, in a profound way, which also means critical and reflective analysis, giving up the triumphalist tonality in which we present our children, students our recent history, whether we are talking about the interwar period, or whether we are talking about communist totalitarianism’ the IICCMER president emphasized. IICCMER appeals to the democratic political forces in Romania and the pro-European civil society to cooperate, so that Romania never returns to the totalitarian state.‘With all its flaws and with all its fragility, Romania’s democratization and Europenisation have brought us to the best period since this country has existed in terms of political and social modernity’ emphasized Sandru.
Romanian students spend an average of 13 hours a week on homework, almost twice as much as their peers in Nordic countries, according to data from the OECD’s PISA 2022 study, quoted by ParentED. Finland ranks at the bottom in Europe with just six hours per week, while countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, and the […]
Romania’s central bank BNR has sharply revised its inflation forecast for 2025, raising the year-end estimate from 4.6% to 8.8%, with the possibility of exceeding 9%, Biziday.ro reported. Governor Mugur Isărescu warned that inflation will peak in September, potentially reaching 9.6% or 9.7%, before gradually easing. The upward revision comes after the expiration of the […]
The international documentary film festival fARAD is returning to Arad, western Romania, this autumn for its 12th edition. Running from October 8 to 12, the event will feature five days of screenings and meetings with guests from Romania and abroad, according to the organizers. For the first time, the festival is introducing a national competition […]
More than 40,000 positions will be cut from local administration in Romania as part of a wider effort to reduce public expenses. In total, the expected annual financial impact amounts to RON 2.2 billion (EUR 434 million). The job cuts were announced by Romania’s minister of development, public works, and administration, Cseke Attila. Also cut […]
The residential market in Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov county showed signs of cooling in the first half of 2025, with the number of transactions down 10% compared to the same period last year. Despite the decline in sales, prices continued to rise, driven by high inflation, anticipated tax changes, and limited supply, according to […]
Inflation jumped by 2.7% in a single month in Romania in July, compared to June 2025, to an annual rate of 7.8%. Although food prices did not increase significantly, the removal of the electricity price cap on July 1 led to an average 61% increase in electricity bills, according to a report from the National […]
