Political crisis in Romania rages on after mass protests

Romania's president tore into the leftist-led government over a corruption decree that sparked a week of huge street protests, though he backed it to remain in power in a potential reprieve for Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu.

In a speech to parliament, the centrist President Klaus Iohannis admonished the Social Democrat-led government for the late-night adoption of a cabinet decree on Feb. 1 that critics said would have turned the clock back on the fight against corruption in the former communist state, one of the most graft-ridden in the European Union.

But Iohannis said the Social Democrats had won the right to govern in a December election and should continue to do so. Though his role is largely ceremonial, the president's powers include nominating the prime minister after elections and returning legislation to parliament for reconsideration.

"You have been saying in public that I would like to overthrow the legitimate government," he told lawmakers. "That's false. You won, now you govern and legislate, but not at any price."

"Romania needs a strong government, not one that shyly executes party orders," said Iohannis, a former leader of the center-right opposition. "You should legislate for Romania, not for a group of politicians with problems."

"The resignation of a single minister is too little and early elections would at this stage be too much. This is the available room for maneuver."

Romania's PM Grindeanu said Monday he may fire the justice minister for mishandling a contentious decree that has sparked the country's largest anti-government protests since communism ended.

Grindeanu said the emergency decree to decriminalize some official misconduct approved by his cabinet last week had "led to division" among Romanians. He suggested Justice Minister Florin Iordache may lose his job over the move within days.

Romania's government revoked the decree on Sunday after 250,000 protesters turned out in Bucharest, numbers not seen since the fall of communism in 1989. The order would have decriminalized a number of graft offences. Crowds called for Grindeanu's cabinet to resign. One minister quit over the decree last week, saying he could not support it. Some 25,000 rallied again in the capital Bucharest on Monday evening, far fewer than on Sunday. It was unclear whether the fall in turnout meant the government had ridden out the storm or had earned only a temporary respite. The Constitutional Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the decriminalizing proposal later this week.