A Muslim woman as Romania's head of government?

After its resounding victory in the parliamentary elections in Romania the Social Democratic Party has nominated Sevil Shhaideh as prime minister. Shhadei, a former minister of regional development, is seen as an outsider. PSD leader Liviu Dragnea cannot act as prime minister himself due to a conviction of electoral fraud. Commentators are surprised at the nomination of a Muslim woman and suspect Dragnea will continue to pull the strings behind the scenes.

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Ziare (RO) /

Shhaideh just a puppet

All PSD leader Dragnea is looking for is a pliable deputy, Ziare believes:

“Because that's exactly what Sevil Shhaideh is. Her profile is that of a technocrat, without political scope or ambitions. She's extremely loyal to Dragnea. She replaced him formally when he had to leave the Ministry of Development after his conviction. When her nomination was announced, Dragnea made no secret of the fact that he'd been looking for someone just like her - because that way government responsibility remains with him. Shhaideh is a sort of authorised representative of the true office holder. In his speech Dragnea talked more about himself, his responsibilities, his competence, and his victimisation, than he did about Sevil Shhaideh.”

hvg (HU) /

Minorities have the say in Romania

Romania's government is surprisingly multicultural bearing in mind the nationalist tones of the new governing PSD party's election campaign, hvg writes in wonder:

“Sevil Shhaideh is neither [an ethnic] Romanian, nor Orthodox, nor a man. She is a Muslim Tatar woman. That's quite a constellation, even if PSD chief Liviu Dragnea will be pulling the strings behind the scenes. ... Then there is our President Klaus Iohannis, who is of Saxon descent. ... And ex-health minister Raed Arafat, who was born in Syria and has Palestinian origins, is considered a co-creator of the Romanian healthcare system. ... What's more: the PSD's xenophobic election campaign was thought up by two Israeli spin-doctors. It must be said that the 'Romania for Romanians' mentality is developing along very strange lines.”