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| Europe | |
| Romania's Ponta in driving seat in presidential polls | |
| 2014-11-03 | |
[IN.REUTERS] Romanians seem likely to propel Prime Minister Victor Ponta into the presidency in elections that began on Sunday, consolidating his leftist Social Democrat party's hold on power but raising questions about judicial independence.
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's youngest prime minister two years ago, ahead of his nearest challenger, an ethnic German mayor backed by two centre-right parties. The two are likely to compete in a run-off on Nov 16. Four different exit polls showed Ponta in the lead with between 6-10 points over Klaus Iohannis, who will try to rally the anti-Ponta vote around him in order to close the gap. A Ponta presidency could bring more stability to the Black Sea country of 20 million, which endured a painful recession and spending cuts during the global slowdown and has made mixed progress in implementing reforms under an IMF-led aid deal. As prime minister, Ponta often feuded with his bitter rival, outgoing President Traian Basescu, which stymied policymaking. | |
| Posted by:Fred |