Most useful information for you

World Politics Review: Romanian protests, the European version of the "Arab Spring"

The woes that have brought Romanians to the streets - low incomes, corruption and rising authoritarianism - are familiar to many in Eastern Europe. Indeed, the protests, which according to police estimates brought 13,000 people to the streets across the country over the weekend, follow similar demonstrations in Russia and Hungary, leading some to suggest that this is the European incarnation of the Arab Spring, a World Politics Review Analysis reads.

Approximately 1,000 people continued to rally in the center of the capital every evening, threatening to stay until the government of President Traian Basescu and his ally, Prime Minister Emil Boc, stood down.

While the crowds have thinned, anger remains, despite the swift reinstatement of popular Deputy Health Minister Raed Arafat, whose resignation sparked the first protests. The Palestinian-born Arafat, a rare symbol of virtue in Romanian public service, quit after clashing with Basescu over a proposed new health law that would introduce elements of private enterprise into the medical emergency service. The service is regarded as one of the few efficient, uncorrupted public organizations in the country, for which Arafat is given most of the credit.

Following the resignation, Basescu called a television phone-in chat show to defend his reforms, and, perhaps fatally, to demean Arafat in personal terms. It is not the first time that Basescu has used this platform, but this time it lent credence to the growing public perception of him as a showboating bully and turned Arafat into a martyr.

In the face of the initial pro-Arafat protests, the government quickly scrapped the health law, and on Tuesday reinstated the minister. But this has not pacified the remaining core of demonstrators, nor is it likely to have satisfied millions of disgruntled Romanians who have lost faith in the political and economic system.

As elsewhere in Europe, government austerity measures are a major cause of discontent. Romania's austerity package is exceptionally tough, including a 25 percent cut in public sector wages, an increase in the value added tax and the axing of many government jobs.

The situation is a familiar one to several other countries in Europe, but few to the same extent as Romania, the European Union's second-poorest member by GDP per capita. Even during the period of growth, many Romanians felt that their incomes were not rising, particularly with inflation relatively high.

As political analyst Dorel Sandor points out, there has been a growing gap between impressive macroeconomic figures, which please international institutions and investors, and the "micro" reality faced by Romanians.

Unprecedented misuse of public funds

But economics are not the only source of popular anger. Corruption, one of the biggest issues in most post-communist countries, is a major problem for Romania, which has had its EU funds frozen in the past over its failure to tackle graft. The country scores only 3.6 out of 10 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, below almost every other EU country, and EU membership appears to have had little impact. Economist Liviu Voinea told World Politics Review that "the current level of misuse of public funds is unprecedented."

Intrinsically linked to the issue of corruption is a widespread feeling that the political elite is nepotistic and out of touch. Dialogue between government and civil society organizations, including trade unions, has deteriorated. Basescu, previously admired for his lone-wolf, can-do attitude, now seems aloof and stubborn.

That this distaste is felt toward almost the entire political class explains why the opposition has yet to gain much traction from backing the protests, even with elections due later this year. Fractured and tainted by its previous spells in power, including the communist past of some of its members, the formal political opposition offers little in the way of radical change.

A new outlook

Nonetheless, there is a hope that political protests in normally apathetic Romania could be a harbinger of a new outlook for the country. "The protests are a signal to the next people in power," Romanian journalist Ovidiu Nahoi told WPR. "It could bring new leaders and new faces. We can't say if that will make things better or not. But this could be a moment of change for Romania."

The relatively small number of protesters, signs of macroeconomic recovery and a small but stable majority in parliament may mean that Basescu and his government will live to fight another day. Certainly, the determined and resilient president is unlikely to resign of his own accord.

However, whatever happens in the squares of Bucharest and the city's corridors of power over the coming weeks, the protests have brought the challenges facing Romania -- and many of its neighbors -- sharply into focus.