Romania To Reshuffle While Streamlining Government

Just as the European Commission was reading its release of Romania’s country report, the Democrat Party, or PD, issued its own model of ideal government structure: a streamlined 16-portfolio, instead of the current 23-minister strong, government should be Romania’s next priority, said Emil Boc, president of the party which also gave Traian Basescu as the president of the country.

PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu manages a 22-minister cabinet, of which three are deputy-PMs

Just as the European Commission was reading its release of Romania’s country report, the Democrat Party, or PD, issued its own model of ideal government structure: a streamlined 16-portfolio, instead of the current 23-minister strong, government should be Romania’s next priority, said Emil Boc, president of the party which also gave Traian Basescu as the president of the country.

This was a long forgotten electoral promise, packaged now as a new opportunity to bring the size of Romania’s government in line with the one of governments elsewhere in Europe.

But the thing is: France has 32 ministries; Germany has 14, Austria - 19, the Czech Republic - 18, Poland - 21, Greece - 18, Latvia - 17, while Hungary, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania have between 12 and 15 ministries each.

The reasons vary. France’s history and ambition to the status of social state make it, for instance, to have a ministry for the former colonies and territories still under French administration, or one for the elderly and the disabled.

Germany, in spite of its comparable size, has fewer ministries than France due to its federal structure, as does Austria. Greece stands out as having more ministries compared with its relatively small size, since it has a portfolio for the politics of the islands and the Aegean Sea and one for Public Order - different from the Ministry of Interior.

Cezar Preda, vice-president of PD, said he will request the alliance of PD and the National Liberal Party, or PNL, which gave premier Calin Popescu Tariceanu, to embark in a government reshuffle while streamlining the government.

PD and PNL, and Basescu and Tariceanu, respectively, had been for months opposing each other on the issue of government reshuffle, with the president supporting early elections to bring that about, and with the premier calmly taking in punches but not relenting his position.

The EC May 16 Report on Romania gave the opportunity to EU officials to state once again their staunch support for a stable government to not disrupt integration efforts, now that Romania has to make a final leap forward towards its EU accession in 2007.

Translated by Anca Paduraru