Romania’s Prime Minister Resigns, After Protests Over Deadly Club Fire

The nightclub fire started after soundproofing foam caught a spark from pyrotechnics during a metal band’s performance at Bucharest nightclub Colectiv.

“Today, I am resigning and this includes, of course, the resignation of the entire Romanian government”, Ponta said Tuesday, according to Euronews.

On top of that, Ponta was indicted in September on charges of forgery, money laundering and being an accessory to tax evasion.

Romanian media are also carrying reports of demonstrations in support of the Romanian protests, in Paris and in London.

Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea has been under pressure over the recent accidental death of a police outrider, and the mayor of the Bucharest district where the fire took place, Cristian “Piedone” Popescu, is accused of having illegally approved the opening of the club.

Piedone said: “I assume the moral blame”.

Ponta later proposed Defence Minister Mircea Dusa as an interim prime minister, an appointment that Iohannis needs to approve. The party’s co-chair Alina Gorghiu called the protest “categorically a powerful warning that Romanian citizens, the civil society in Romania gives to the political class, to society in its entirety”.

Ponta’s resignation comes after a series of allegations of impropriety, and follows his indictment earlier this summer on charges of corruption.

President Klaus Iohannis wrote on his Facebook page late on Tuesday: “I understand what is being asked and what is expected, and they are right, someone has to take political responsibility”.

Mr Ponta announced yesterday morning that the entire government would resign and Mr Oprea ruled out taking part in a future administration.

“I have to acknowledge the legitimate anger of the people”, he said. The New York Times reports that 20,000 protesters blamed Ponta and the government for corruption and “lax granting of permits and for inadequate inspections of public venues”. Ponta will remain PM during the transition period that could run smoothly if his party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) keeps its coalition and power-sharing agreement with its partner, the UNPR. “And when something very serious like that happens and young people die, we see it as an attack against us”, she said.