Sadly, it looks like everything I predicted in my post Hail to the Thief is coming true. After last Sunday’s elections, Victor Ponta received 40.44% of the vote and Iohannis Klaus 30.37%, meaning the two men will face off in a run-off election next week. I pretty much learned everything I needed to know about Romanian politics when I lived in a village a few … Continue reading The Moron vs. The Manager
It’s a bittersweet time for me. Today, Romanians go to the polls to elect their new president. Ten years ago, I was a new immigrant to Romania. I barely understood the language and my ancient television could only receive one channel over the air. I remember watching a bald man with a Dutch uncle squint, a kind of friendly pirate, cry copious amounts of tears. … Continue reading Hail to the Thief
Well I certainly never expected to be living in the Republic of Moldova (RM), but as the old Buddhist sage once said, wherever you go, there you are. This country is gearing up for an election in a few weeks on November 30. I’ve seen almost no coverage of it at all in the wider media but what happens in this tiny country will have … Continue reading The Tip of the Spear
I’m an old jaded observer of Romanian politics, having spent years lambasting this country’s buffoons as they were investigated for corruption and bribe-taking, demonstrated mindbogglingly bad levels of mismanagement, passed stupid and barbaric laws, engaged in superstitious and juvenile behavior, acted like they were hysterical stars in a telenovela drama, mangled the English language, let people die due to their Communist-era mentality and otherwise proved … Continue reading Jumping the Shark
After a week in which Ponta threatened to resign from politics after this year’s presidential elections, a statement which nobody believed, a statement which Crin Antonescu mocked, a statement which Elena Udrea decoded, a statement which Ponta himself hinted had secret layers of meaning, he then went on Antena 3 last night and said that the whole thing was a warning that if the people … Continue reading Angel Rebelde
