Romania’s prime minister, Victor Ponta, has officially resigned following a tragedy that killed at least 32 people at a metal band’s nightclub show.
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Liviu Dragnea, leader of Ponta’s Social Democrats, said the ruling coalition will meet at 1 p.m.in Bucharest to discuss its next move.
I have the obligation to note the legitimate discontent that exists in society and the wish … to have greater responsibility than the owners of the nightclub.
The prime minister released his statement early Wednesday, saying he hopes his response will satisfy the thousands of protesters who marched through central Bucharest Tuesday.
Ponta’s resignation also comes a year after Romania embarked on an anti-corruption campaign led by President Klaus Iohannis. “As for the legal (blame) I will leave it to justice to pronounce”.
Friday’s fire broke out as a few 400 people assembled to get a totally free rock concert by the group Goodbye to Gravity at the Colectiv club.
Although the main victim of the protests was the left-wing government of Mr. Ponta, the event was not overtly party-political, and was largely spontaneous and unorganised.
Approximately 20,000 people took to the streets of Bucharest on Tuesday evening (Nov. 3), calling for the resignation of Ponta, interior minister Gabriel Oprea and district mayor Cristian Popescu Piedone.
The protesters chanted “shame on you” and “assassins”, and carried banners reading “corruption kills”.
Around 130 people are still being treated in hospital, dozens of them in a serious or critical condition. A national election is due in December 2016.
The main opposition Liberal Party, PNL, said it planned to start talks on a political agreement for early elections, which would require the resignation of all lawmakers.
“Ponta is a symbol of corruption in the country”, says Pieter Cleppe, a senior lawyer at the think tank Open Europe, who believes the nightclub fire was merely the catalyst for Ponta’s downfall.
“We now think there will be a minority PSD cabinet, potentially headed by a technocrat”, said Otilia Dhand, an analyst at Teneo Intelligence, a New York-based political risk consultancy.
Ponta later proposed Defense Minister Mircea Dusa as an interim prime minister, an appointment that Iohannis needs to approve.
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The nightclub fire is viewed as the breaking point – but not the sole reason – for Ponta’s resignation: The politician is facing a litany of corruption charges stemming from both before and after he took the prime minister’s office.
