In 1990, right after the revolution, Romania had a population of 23 million and now it's down to 19 million, meaning that in 30 years it has declined 17.4%, the highest negative growth in Europe. This documentary gives you a very good idea why that is, but since it is edited like an action film, with no breaks between events, it's not only interesting to Romanians, but for everybody.
Starting out with the Sport Gazette's revelation of the Hexipharma scandal, which broke after many burn victims of the "Colectif" fire died from infections obtained in hospital, the film first focuses on the journalist breaking the case. Hexipharma was a company that diluted disinfectants to 10% and sold them at hiked prices to the health care sector, so patients got infected by surgical instruments. The film does not elaborate on the scandal about the club, which had no proper emergency exits (the reason why I never went clubbing in Bucharest). It just uses its name as a reference to the corruption network in politics.
Once the Socialist (i.e. ex-Communist) government resigned, a technocrat cabinet took over until the next elections, so the film focuses on new health minister Vlad Voiculescu's attempts to clean up corruption in the country's hospitals, which was met by a media hit job accusing him of trying to appoint foreigners and misappropriating funds - so the very things the Socialists were doing. They won the next election promising enormous tax breaks, after which the editors of Sport Gazette were threatened by ex-Intelligence to watch out for their families. It's a sobering reminder for us emigrants why we despair so much about our homeland, and a warning for those living in less corrupt countries how bad things can get if no one dares to oppose them.
The film ends on a bleak note, but in reality this scandal was the starting point of a huge protest movement. The leader of the Socialists Liviu Dragnea tried to overturn anti-corruption laws so that he could become Prime Minister (he had been legally convicted, so he was barred from office). This led to a veritable war between the Socialists and the Anticorruption Directorate, whose boss Laura Kövesi had hundreds of politicians and judges indicted until she was fired for abuse of power - she is now the EU's first Chief Prosecutor. That is the film I'm really waiting for. For years, often in winter, Romanians demonstrated against the government, and when Dragnea's final appeal was rejected, he was immediately jailed (he's still in prison). I hope we get to see that film one day, as it shows a different Romania in which change is possible because the people have had enough.
Starting out with the Sport Gazette's revelation of the Hexipharma scandal, which broke after many burn victims of the "Colectif" fire died from infections obtained in hospital, the film first focuses on the journalist breaking the case. Hexipharma was a company that diluted disinfectants to 10% and sold them at hiked prices to the health care sector, so patients got infected by surgical instruments. The film does not elaborate on the scandal about the club, which had no proper emergency exits (the reason why I never went clubbing in Bucharest). It just uses its name as a reference to the corruption network in politics.
Once the Socialist (i.e. ex-Communist) government resigned, a technocrat cabinet took over until the next elections, so the film focuses on new health minister Vlad Voiculescu's attempts to clean up corruption in the country's hospitals, which was met by a media hit job accusing him of trying to appoint foreigners and misappropriating funds - so the very things the Socialists were doing. They won the next election promising enormous tax breaks, after which the editors of Sport Gazette were threatened by ex-Intelligence to watch out for their families. It's a sobering reminder for us emigrants why we despair so much about our homeland, and a warning for those living in less corrupt countries how bad things can get if no one dares to oppose them.
The film ends on a bleak note, but in reality this scandal was the starting point of a huge protest movement. The leader of the Socialists Liviu Dragnea tried to overturn anti-corruption laws so that he could become Prime Minister (he had been legally convicted, so he was barred from office). This led to a veritable war between the Socialists and the Anticorruption Directorate, whose boss Laura Kövesi had hundreds of politicians and judges indicted until she was fired for abuse of power - she is now the EU's first Chief Prosecutor. That is the film I'm really waiting for. For years, often in winter, Romanians demonstrated against the government, and when Dragnea's final appeal was rejected, he was immediately jailed (he's still in prison). I hope we get to see that film one day, as it shows a different Romania in which change is possible because the people have had enough.