Romania’s Govt Needs To Restore Credibility – ING Romania Official

„Personally, I think whatever government we’ll have, it’ll bring improvements and corrections to macroeconomic imbalances, will better the business environment and will manage to gain credibility outside the country. That’s the most important thing the future government has to do: gain credibility from the business environment and foreign investors. After it gains this credibility, then it can finance its budget deficit and give a safe outlook on business,” Negritoiu told MEDIAFAX.

Negritoiu added the country’s future government could restore confidence with the first measures it adopts, the goals it sets and by resuming the country’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

„No one is as absurd as to demand immediate corrections, but confidence is important because it buys time for these corrections,” Negritoiu said, adding Romania should have a political government.

„It’s hard to say whether the election outcome is good or bad. I think it’s best that elections are over and politicians no longer focus on campaigning and can look to recovery and development programs,” the bank official said.

Romania’s incumbent President Traian Basescu was reelected in the presidential election runoff last Sunday, which has yet to be validated by the Constitutional Court. The Court also has to rule on a request by social democrats to cancel the election and order a rerun. Social democrats said the election was marred by electoral fraud after their candidate Mircea Geoana lost the election by less than one percentage point.

Romania’s minority government led by democrat liberal Emil Boc collapsed in a no-confidence vote mid-October and has been functioning with limited powers since, as the Parliament has rejected one proposed Cabinet and refused to hold a vote on a second.

Although they have the largest number of seats in Parliament, Basescu’s democrat liberals still don’t have enough to push through a new government and are now seeking alliances across party lines.

Romania, hit hard by the global crisis, relies heavily on a EUR20 million IMF-led loan package obtained in spring. After the government collapsed, the IMF and the European Commission withheld further disbursements of the loan expecting Romania to regain political stability and adopt next year’s state budget.

A delegation comprising representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission is scheduled to arrive in Bucharest early next week to discuss Romania’s draft budget for 2010, acting Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea told MEDIAFAX Friday.