Romania’s justice minister resigns over scrapped corruption decree

Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache stepped down Thursday over a decree on corruption which the government passed last week, but had to revoke after five days under pressure from massive protests. Iordache announced his resignation to a press conference in Bucharest. Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu blamed Iordache for what he said was poor communication with […]

Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache stepped down Thursday over a decree on corruption which the government passed last week, but had to revoke after five days under pressure from massive protests.

Iordache announced his resignation to a press conference in Bucharest.

Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu blamed Iordache for what he said was poor communication with the public in relation to the decree, which was condemned in Romania and internationally as a step backwards in the country’s fragile fight against corruption.

Passed in an emergency procedure, the measure, which would have watered down graft regulation, triggered the largest protests in Romania since those which toppled Communist strongman Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989.

The protests peaked on Sunday, the day that Grindeanu’s cabinet revoked the decree, with more than 200,000 people rallying in Bucharest and about the same number in other places across the country.

The number of protesters in Bucharest meanwhile dropped to several thousand people who are still not satisfied with the replacement of ministers, but who want the government to fall instead.

That, however is a quickly dimming prospect.

Grindeanu, who took over in early January following a strong win for the Social Democrats in Dec. 11 elections, on Wednesday soundly defeated an opposition no-confidence motion in parliament.

NAN recalls that on Feb. 2, Florin Jianu, Minister of business, trade and entrepreneurship, announced on Facebook that he was resigning.

No fewer than 250,000 Romanians came out in protest late on Wednesday, in the biggest anti-corruption demonstration since the fall of communism in Romania in 1989.

The decree, which decriminalises a number of graft offences, was hastily adopted by the cabinet late on Tuesday evening, barely a month since the Social Democrat-led government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu took power.

Romania’s top judicial watchdog has filed a constitutional court challenge to the decree, which will take effect in 10 days unless blocked by a court ruling. (dpa/NAN