Skip to content

All sections

Opinii

447 articles in this section

LanguageROEN

Opinii +1

A woman on a coach and the Romania we keep forgetting

A short ride toward Focșani becomes a quiet portrait of worn-down dignity — and the distance between us.

  • A woman boards at Roman and holds her bag in her arms the whole way.
  • The small gesture mirrors the worn dignity of deep Romania.
  • "Sorry to bother you" — a phrase that says far more than it intends.

Read

Opinii +2

Cristian Chivu and the lesson on humanity in leadership

The Romanian coach won two trophies with his youth side and chose to speak not about tactics, but about people.

  • Cristian Chivu won two trophies with his youth team.
  • The coach spoke publicly about humanity as the foundation of effective leadership.
  • His model contradicts the performative culture of authority without substance.

Read

Opinii -2

The Veștea collapse redraws Romania's political map

The failed investiture vote of June 22 leaves behind surprise winners, a weakened president, and a crisis without a clear timeline.

  • The Veștea government fell on June 22 — Nicușor Dan's second consecutive failed nomination.
  • George Simion blocked the investiture by pulling AUR MPs from the chamber during the debate.
  • The PNRR deadline of August 31, 2026 exerts more pressure than any electoral calculation.

Read

Opinii +1

Ukraine's accession bid is rewriting the logic of EU enlargement

The EU's enlargement process was built for peacetime. Ukraine poses a different question: how do you integrate a country that is still at war?

  • EU enlargement was built on a peacetime framework — Ukraine tests the limits of that model.
  • Cluster 1 talks with Ukraine and Moldova are set to open formally under the Cyprus Presidency.
  • Romania has a direct stake: a Western-anchored Ukraine stabilises NATO's and the EU's eastern flank.

Read

Opinii -2

Early elections: the one thing that might cost PSD its impunity

PSD toppled a government, blocked another, and now talks about snap elections as if it were a bystander to the crisis it engineered.

  • PSD engineered the crisis and now frames snap elections as a natural way out.
  • Veștea failed the investiture vote; President Dan must restart the nomination process.
  • Early elections could clarify parliament but carry significant political and social risks.

Read

Opinii -2

Who really loses from Romania's political crisis

Beyond PSD, PNL dissidents and President Nicușor Dan, the crisis has a quieter but deeper loser.

  • The Veștea government fell Monday, failing to secure even 233 votes in Parliament.
  • President Nicușor Dan must restart the prime-ministerial nomination process from scratch.
  • PSD rules out backing a minority cabinet, making snap elections increasingly plausible.

Read

Opinii -2

AUR, the unlikely arbiter of a parliament without a majority

A year after Nicușor Dan's victory over George Simion, AUR has not been defeated — it has become indispensable. Political scientist Ioan Stanomir explains why impoverishment fuels radicalism.

  • AUR blocked the Veștea government's investiture by withdrawing its MPs from the chamber.
  • Stanomir: structural poverty keeps radicalism as a stable electoral force.
  • The snap-election scenario becomes harder to dismiss after a second failed investiture.

Read

Opinii -2

Grindeanu for PM? The right question about a questionable choice

Romania's political crisis demands a prime minister with integrity and resolve. Sorin Grindeanu, floated as a candidate, offers little reassurance on either count.

  • Veștea lost Monday's confidence vote; Nicușor Dan must restart the PM designation process.
  • Grindeanu, backed by PSD, carries a contested governing record dating to 2017.
  • Romania needs real fiscal reforms, incompatible with a politically fragile mandate.

Read

Opinii 0

ZF at 20: Romania's macro results come from businesses, not governments

Two decades after launching its "Biggest Players in the Economy" yearbook, ZF editor Sorin Pâslaru argues that macroeconomic outcomes are built in boardrooms, not ministries.

  • ZF marks 20 years since its first yearbook ranking Romania's largest companies.
  • Pâslaru argues macroeconomic performance stems from corporate decisions, not public policy.
  • Context: Romania has a caretaker government and a failed investiture vote, leaving growth to the private sector.

Read

Opinii -1

Dan at the crossroads: with the Social Democrats or without them

Every failed investiture vote costs the president political capital. The moment of breaking with PSD can no longer be postponed indefinitely.

  • Veștea failed to win investiture; the governmental crisis enters a second round.
  • Dan has been party to every PSD-led political combination since the Bolojan government fell.
  • Breaking with PSD is presented as the only way to preserve presidential credibility.

Read