People wear Guy Fawkes masks during the third day of protests, joined by tens of thousands across the country, calling for early elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, November 5, 2015.
Advertisement
On Wednesday, Ponta resigned following mass protests and Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu was appointed as interim prime minister.
The former premier, the first sitting Romanian prime minister to stand trial for corruption, has immunity from a few of the charges, including the conflict of interest accusation, but not from the charges of tax evasion and money laundering, according to the Guardian newspaper.
He is likely to face his first court hearings later this month. It is reported that the protesters had already gathered about 20 thousand people. The participants demanded the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers and local authorities. The death toll stands at 32, with about 130 more hospitalized, dozens of them in serious or critical condition.
Romania has a new interim prime minster, but will he be able to calm tensions on the streets?
It was not yet clear who would be part of that group.
The votes went instead to current Liberal president Klaus Iohannis, but they were empty votes, sealed in desperation by a people exhausted of letting “them” have their way. “We have turbulence, uncertainty, and unrest”, he said.
Corruption links both the fire and the government: endemic, parasitic corruption. His resignation came after more than 20000 people rallied in Bucharest to demand he step down. “I believe in a clean Romania, a dignified Romania, where citizens are respected”, said Alexandru Ispas, 23, a history student.
“Ponta resigning won’t make any difference because the people know he will just be replaced by someone with a different name but who is pretty much the same person”. He will hold talks with political parties later in the day and will nominate a new prime minister later this week, tasked with forming a new government, which needs parliamentary approval.
Advertisement
Public discontent with the church is at an all-time high after it failed to address an outpouring of national grief.
