Citizens to decide site for a monument

The municipal authorities in Bucharest want to hold a referendum to decide which would be the best site for a statue of the former Romanian King Carol I on horseback. Ion Vianu comments: "It is questionable whether people's democracy should extend to aesthetic matters. ... To consult the people would be an option, but the decision should be made by competent persons, otherwise instead of architects and sculptors it will be bricklayers who carry out the will of the people who have the final say. This would be reminiscent of what happened at the beginning of communism when it was explained that medicine should be left to nurses who were familiar with Marxism-Leninism."

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