Page 8 - ATODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 13 december 2016
Social Democrats easily win Romania parliamentary elections

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) “There should be no doubt day over the poor result. appointed prime minister Political scientist Cristian
— Romania’s left-leaning who won the elections.” Dragnea got a two-year because of the convic- Parvulescu said Romania
Social Democrats have “Romanians want to feel at suspended prison sentence tion, and last week he said was at risk of backpedaling
easily won parliamentary home in their own country in April for voter fraud for the party would not try to on its anti-corruption fight
elections a year after a and I want Romania to be inflating voter numbers in change the law. However, which has seen dozens of
major anti-corruption drive a good home for all Roma- a July 2012 referendum to he told Romania TV Mon- senior officials successfully
forced the last Socialist nians.” impeach then-President day that he had not ruled prosecuted in recent years.
prime minister from power, His Social Democratic Party Traian Basescu. The out- himself out as a future pre- Dan Brett, an associate
near-final results released won about 46 percent of come of Sunday’s ballot mier. President Klaus Io- professor at the Open Uni-
Monday showed. the vote with the center- raised questions about the hannis has said he will not versity who comments on
The chairman of the Social right Liberals coming sec- future of Romania’s anti- nominate a premier who Romania, noted the So-
Democrats, Liviu Dragnea, ond with over 20 percent. corruption fight. has been convicted or who cial Democrats, Romania’s
who spoke Sunday after Liberal Party chairman Ali- Under a 2001 law, Drag- is a subject of a corruption largest party, have a loyal
exit polls appeared, said: na Gorghiu resigned Mon- nea is not allowed to be investigation. party base.q
Italy’s new government sworn in amid calls for election

FRANCES D’EMILIO notti, who will continues as
Associated Press defense minister.
ROME (AP) Italy’s latest Angelino Alfano, who
government was formed crossed over a few years
and rapidly sworn in Mon- ago from former Silvio Ber-
day, a center-left coalition lusconi’s center-right to
headed by new Premier become the leading non-
Paolo Gentiloni and strik- Democrat in Renzi’s gov-
ingly similar in makeup to ernment, got a new Cabi-
the just-ended one that net post.
was led by Matteo Renzi. Alfano switches from interi-
The composition of the co- or minister, where he dealt
alition government Gen- with the flood of migrants
tiloni created fueled fresh across the Mediterranean
calls from opposition forc- to Italian shores as well as
es and even from within his domestic anti-terrorism
ruling Democrat party for strategy, to foreign minis-
hastened elections. ter. His new brief will see
Gentiloni, 62, served as him grapple with both is-
Renzi’s foreign minister sues from an international
until the latter resigned perspective. After seeing
after voters resoundingly 64 governments now in
defeated a Dec. 4 refer- some 70 years, Italians are
endum on government- used to political crisis. This
backed constitutional re- Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni, right, shakes hands with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the one, prompted by Renzi’s
forms. The new prime min- Quirinale presidential palace, in Rome Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. Paolo Gentiloni, a Democrat serv- resignation last week, had
ister is a staunch backer ing as foreign minister, formed Italy’s new government Monday, keeping several key ministers a rapid resolution.
from the coalition of Matteo Renzi, who resigned last week.
of Renzi’s. Even before he (GIuseppe Lami/ANSA via AP) Italy’s head of state, Presi-
announced his Cabinet, dent Sergio Mattarella,
some observers took to ments to Corriere della bid to gain its first premier- should keep the euro as its summoned Gentiloni to
dubbing it the “Renziloni” Sera daily. ship. official currency. the Quirinal presidential
government. The 5-Star Movement, Critical of harsh austerity Among the holdovers from palace on Sunday to ask
Gentiloni is “Renzi’s dou- founded by comic Beppe measures advocated by Renzi’s Cabinet are econ- him to try to forge a gov-
ble,” Roberto Fico, a lead- Grillo, is Parliament’s largest European Union leaders, omist Pier Carlo Padoan, ernment, working with the
er of the populist 5-Star opposition force and ea- they want a popular ref- who remains as finance same Democrat majority in
Movement, said in com- ger for elections soon in a erendum on whether Italy minister, and Roberta Pi- Parliament. q
Conservatives win Macedonian election, need partner to rule

K. TESTORIDES able to form a government gal wiretapping operation cial Democrats garnered regularities.
Associated Press with the help of his previous targeting more than 20,000 36.7 percent, and 49 seats. Election observers from the
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) junior partner, a party rep- people. The ethnic Albanian Demo- Organization for Security
— Macedonia’s dominant resenting the country’s eth- Gruevski — who has gov- cratic Union for Integration and Cooperation in Europe
conservative coalition has nic Albanian minority. erned Macedonia for the — which usually allies with (OSCE) said in a preliminary
won a narrow victory over Together, the two parties past decade — denied Gruevski — received 7.3 report that Sunday’s vote
the main opposition Social would control 61 of Parlia- wrongdoing, blaming the percent of the vote and was “generally well ad-
Democrats in early national ment’s 120 seats. wiretaps on unspecified for- ten seats. ministered” and had gone
elections, although without The election was called as eign spies. Both Gruevski and Zaev smoothly overall.
enough seats in parliament part of a Western-brokered Results Monday from 99.8 claimed victory on Sunday But they noted that the
to govern alone, final re- deal to defuse a two-year percent of polling stations night. Parties have three campaign took place in
sults showed Monday. political crisis sparked by a showed the coalition led days in which to contest an environment “charac-
But the conservative co- massive wiretapping scan- by his VMRO-DPMNE with the final results. terized by public mistrust in
alition led by former Prime dal. about 38 percent of the In the past, Macedonian institutions and the political
Minister Nikola Gruevski’s The left-wing opposition vote and 51 seats. Opposi- elections have been tar- establishment, and allega-
VMRO-DPMNE would be blamed Gruevski for an ille- tion leader Zoran Zaev’s So- nished by allegations of ir- tions of voter coercion.”q