We see it all over the Romanian news. The Tate Brothers, the best known life coaches in Eastern Europe, are leaving Romania.
If what they are accused of is true, then they deserve harsh punishments. If it is false, then perhaps they are owed an apology. In any case, they do not say the false accusations are what caused them to leave, but it seems they claim it is taxes.
Europe does not have high business tax rates. The highest in the world are in Africa. There are other fees and bureaucratic requirements that can make it expensive for foreigners to do business in Romania.
First, will we miss the Tate Brothers? We never met them.
We have closed our own Romanian business for different reasons. It is difficult to run a business here if you are not Tates. If you do not have a big flashy image in the IT sector or sports, not many people understand what you do. In countries like Ireland or France, where they have a larger history of foreign artists, it might be easier. Even Switzerland and Italy have a relatively recent history of bringing in foreign idea makers who are not in coaching, horeca or technology.
But we could possibly stay in Cluj.
Now, the lesser Tate, has made a political statement. He allegedly supports Victor Ponta!
I guess Ponta, like the Tates, is a foreign citizen, after having accepted Serbian or Yugoslav citizenship. Ponta received that citizenship because he flooded some Romanian towns to save Belgrade, or something like that.
While I do not like to take sides, I personally do not see Ponta as a competent candidate. That said, I hope that if he is elected, he proves me wrong and leads the country well.
What makes us more anxious than any particular candidate, however, is cancelled elections. I would rather live under a president that I do not agree with than a president that the population does not trust. And with checks and balances, the senate should be able to check any stupid things that the president tries to do.
How would a Ponta presidency change Cluj? I am not sure, but I do not think it would be good. Cluj currently has some streets that are much cleaner than similarly sized cities in other parts of Europe. There is a lot to lose in terms of hygiene, services, and health. It also has slum neighbourhoods that can be improved. There are areas that can do with improvement, but will Ponta help improve them?
Anyway, this election might prove positive change or negative change in Romania. What matters is not only who wins, but how the losers and their supporters react.
There are also the dynamics of NATO and the European Union, many of which are being misreported in foreign news outlets. Would a sovereigntist wish to leave either? Not as far as I could see. Most of the sovereigntists spoke of the rights of their citizens abroad and supported Romanian entry into Schengen and suggested incorporating Moldova to bring it into NATO.