The final countdown until Sunday’s first round of the presidential elections went strong this week, and so did the last electioneering promises of the candidates. While most of the presidential candidates had to fight back final attacks, the most visible “charity” actions were in PM Ponta’s camp.
First of all, there were some salary rises promises. No later than Thursday Sanitas union Federation gave up its heralded protests after Government promised that all employees of the health system would get a RON 100 wages rise starting next year. The same went for postmen on Wednesday, national post company’s general manager announcing they would get an extra RON 100 to salaries.
Also on Wednesday, the Government mailed 2.8 million food stamps to some families in need, which can be used after November 16, meaning after the run-off. On the other hand, RON 96 M were allocated as compensations for this summer’s floods. The money will go to 171 localities in 15 counties for roads and bridges rehabilitation, but also most probably to over 1,000 poor families.
The Executive also kept children in mind, announcing four days before elections its intention to build 400 football grounds all over the country and that the curriculum will include one football class a week starting with the 2015-2016 academic year.
As a matter of fact sports was all around on Wednesday, as PM Ponta promised a gymnastics training center in Snagov to ex-coaches Marian Bitang and Octavian Bellu provided they came back to train the Romanian gymnasts’ Olympic team.
Government also decided in its Wednesday’s session to financially support Cluj-Napoca city to become the European Youth Capital in 2015, the Government’s spokesperson saying the exact master budget and the financing sources are to be reported in one of the upcoming weekly sittings.
Church was neither forgot. According to “Adevarul” daily, PSD local officials in Vaslui gave about RON 200,000 funds to Husi Bishopric and to other three more churches in Barlad.
In Iasi, PSD local leaders seem set to fix up all city damages, properly and metaphorically speaking. Therefore, PSD members planted 50 lime trees in a city’s park on Wednesday, after last year it was precisely the Social Democrat mayor who ordered that tens of lime trees should be cut down downtown, his move generating wide protests.
At the same time Iasi mayor promised on Thursday that City Hall would invest 16.5 million euros to rehabilitate the city’s road infrastructure.