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Leca, Iulian
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Băsescu the root of all evil
The Romanians associate the corruption, ailing healthcare system, economic crisis and tough austerity measures above all with President Traian Băsescu, writes Iulian Leca in the blog portal Voxpublica: "The majority of the population is out in protest because they can no longer bear the current government. But the anger is also directed at the entire political class. The demonstrators are disgusted and disappointed, feelings which are easily projected onto the figure of Traian Băsescu. In the elections in 2004 and 2009 he united the last hopes and illusions of a people that was weary of making sacrifice upon sacrifice. In recent years, however, he has done nothing but trample on their feelings. ... If he does not mend his ways and if the people on the street hear only that they are 'uneducated, fanatics, peasants, worms and good-for-nothings', these people will lose all hope for the future."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Unrest / Riots, » Romania
From Occupy to the hunt for bargains
Last Friday was Black Friday in the US, the day after Thanksgiving when businesses traditionally lure customers with extra-low prices. The tents set up in front of stores across the country resembled those of the Occupy movement in New York but reveal another paradox of Western culture, writes Julian Leca on the blog portal Voxpublica: "People who grow up in the West are the product of a consumer society that satisfies every mood. How, from this starting point, can you revolt against a system that has made luxury available to the general public? ... There is not much left that would prompt a citizen of the West to start a revolution. The weltschmerz has passed, the injustices are a thing of the past, freedom has been won, but ideals they no longer have. Only the frustrations remain - but they are short-lived and depend on the context. The Occupy movement was an expression of those frustrations. But the movement perfectly exposes the hypocrisy: Down with the banks and big companies, but secretly we race to the supermarkets to snap up the bargains!"
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Trade, » Consumers, » Financial Markets, » North America, » U.S., » Western Europe
Romanians more nostalgic than ever
The year 2010 was marked by nostalgia for Romanians, writes Iulian Leca in his blog for the portal Voxpublica: "It was the year when Romanians returned to communism. It saw the collapse of the social state as well as the education and health budgets, the lies of those in power and the spectre of imminent collapse. ... All of that has driven Romanians right around the bend. And it makes them hark back all the more nostalgically to the times of the 'little father' [Ceauşescu], when the state still guaranteed people a job and the party provided everyone with a home free of charge. Freedom isn't worth a thing if you're in despair, if nothing seems to make sense, if everything happens by chance. Then the torture of an absurd regime - which at least provided security for the future and a vague feeling of hope - is better than the chaos and horror of a political system that drives everything it touches into bankruptcy and nourishes no more hope than the certainty of death."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » History, » Weltanschauung, » Remembrance culture, » Society, » Romania
Regional autonomy is Romania's future
On the occasion of the Hungarian national holiday on Monday, local politicians in the Romanian region of Széklerland, home to a large Hungarian-speaking minority, have again called for the region's autonomy. Iulian Leca welcomes the idea in the blog Voxpublica: "It can only be a win-win situation to accept the Hungarians' territorial demands and grant them all the rights they want. Modernity comes about by accepting bold, audacious, even zany ideas. Just think what administrative advantages could be gained with such a move. A federal system of autonomous regions would emerge in Romania. ... Even if centralism is the rule in many Western states, in each case it adapts as modern administrations develop. ... Instigating a form of administration that the Hungarian minority could also adopt would be the biggest step Romania could take in the direction of modernity. And it would mean adapting to a changing world."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Federalism, » Separatism, » Hungary, » Romania
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