Traian Băsescu on Romania's exit from recession: first quarter, first half, second half of 2011
President Traian Băsescu was undecided yesterday as to when
Romania will step out of recession: he talked about the first
quarter, the first half and the second half of 2011.
President Băsescu yesterday talked about his conviction that the
exit from the recession would occur in 2011, but over the course of
the conference he generated confusion as to when exactly the
economy would go into positive territory: the first quarter, the
first half or the second half of the year.
"We will step out of recession in the first quarter of 2011, in the
first half. My conviction is that we will see growth in the second
quarter of next year," the President yesterday told a news
conference at the Cotroceni Palace.
This time last year, both President Băsescu and Premier Boc said
the same thing about this year, but ultimately the government had
to resort to extreme measures - cutting salaries and raising VAT -
because budget revenues did not meet forecasts.
Asked by Ziarul Financiar who would be responsible if the same
happened in 2011, he said:
"Political responsibility lies with all of us who did not foresee
the crisis and who did not take measures in due course. At the
beginning of 2009 we built the budget on a rise, but we saw a
decline. I am trying to be realistic, but no one can say for
certain whether there will be an increase or a decline next year.
Any budget is an estimate, budget execution is a different matter,"
Băsescu said.