Romania’s prime minister has proposed a caretaker prime minister after he announced his resignation following mass protests that erupted in the wake of a deadly nightclub fire.
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Ponta later proposed Defence Minister Mircea Dusa as an interim prime minister, an appointment that Iohannis needs to approve.
Protesters gathered in University Square, a hub for anti-government rallies in central Bucharest, and marched toward parliament shouting: “Get out of your homes if you care” and “Don’t be afraid, the country is rising up”, the BBC reported.
Ponta made the announcement at a press conference Wednesday morning, putting the blame squarely on himself and not those around him. He was in a motorcade easing a route in Bucharest for Oprea.
On Wednesday, less than a week after 32 people died in a massive fire at a nightclub in Bucharest, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned from office.
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. “We need a new start”. Party co-leader Alina Gorghiu called for early elections and said the party wanted a broad political agreement on a solution for the political crisis.
In a day of resignations, the mayor of the district where the nightclub is located stepped down, saying he felt morally guilty for the fire. “As for the legal [blame], I will leave it to justice to pronounce”, Piedone said.
The outrage, however, did not cease and protesters now call for reforms in a country where they believe safety is compromised because of corruption.
“I trust the government’s resignation will meet the people that came out in the roads”, he said on Romanian TV. He served as the joint leader of Social Liberal Union (USL) from 2012 to 2014 which was also the – then governing Party and an alliance of National Liberal Party (PNL).
For Romanian President Klaus Iohannis who was elected on an anti-corruption ticket last November, the resignation of Prime Minister Victor Ponta has been too long in coming.
“I have to acknowledge the legitimate anger of the people”, he said.
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“When I see these children demonstrating, many of them weren’t born 25 years ago, I feel there is hope for the rebirth of this nation”, one protest veteran said.
