Ovidiu Predescu's Weblog

Not so wild west

Mr. Basescu, the Romanian President, made a quick stop to Casa Romana in Hayward this evening. He was welcomed by members of the local Romanian community, gathered to meet the president.

During a speech he gave, Mr. Basescu described some of the changes that are happening in Romania these days as being the end of the transition period. He was referring to the transition from communism to a more capitalistic economy, in a country which some describe as Wild Wild East, where everything goes and until not long ago the corruption seemed to be rampant. Mr. Basescu addressed some of the concerns related to corruption and how the current government is fighting against it.

He also talked about the presence of Romanian forces in Iraq, and said a withdrawal will not occur until the coallition forces decide it's time to move out. This is a fairly interesting position, as it risks alienating some of the EU countries, most of which decided to stay away from the conflict or withdrew their forces.

During the visit, he was offered a cowboy hat and told Mr. President, when you go back to Bucharest, you now need to find a horse!