The Executive Still Has No Spokesperson

On January 9 PM Emil Boc said on public television that having a spokesperson for the Executive was not a priority, as he could perfectly convey his and the Government messages by himself.

Still the decision at this week's Government meeting to cut down the personnel in the central administration by 20% was poorly conveyed to the public, due to this lack of interface.

For hours the public and the trade-unions were under the impression that the 20% cut will go down to the teachers and doctors and other professionals on the government payroll.

The message was corrected by the minister of administration, the one of health and Boc's adviser on economic topics, who all said only the central administration will be targeted by the proposed cut.

While the official press release from the Government quarters came only four hours after the meeting had ended, adding only that the draft decision would be adopted at the next session, on January 29.

This week Boc nominated his close partners in Cluj at top ministerial positions. Cynthia-Carmen Curt, former university assistant to Boc, took the position of personal adviser; Darius-Christian Pintilie, deputy president of the Cluj youth organization in Boc's party, became PM's personal adviser too; Pal Peter, a member of the Cluj organization of the Democrat Union of Hungarians in Romania, became Boc's personal secretary; Catalin Baba, former Dean with the Faculty of Political Sciences in Cluj, is going to be the head of the Chancellery, while Stefania Ferent, former director in the Cluj City Hall, will become the head of Boc's secretarial staff.