In aftermath of the huge protest in Romania following the fire in a club on Saturday which killed 32 people and injured thousands, Prime Minister Victor Ponta and the entire government will resign later today.
"I am obliged to take note of the legitimate grievances which exist in society. I hope handing in my and my government's mandate will satisfy the demands of the protesters", said the PM, already under a growing public pressure due to charges for fraud and tax evasion in the previous months, and whose government has always been accused for beingcorrupted.
On Tuesday evening 20,000 people walked in Bucharest streets to protest, shouting "Assassins" and "Shame on you!" and wavering Romanian flags against the national government and Cristian Popescu Piedone, the major of the district where the night-club "Colectiv" was. The latter said in a statement he feels morally guilty for what happened on Halloween night, aware that this was the explosion was the deadliest in the history of the country.
Piedone, member of the National Union for the Progress of Romania (the governing coalition) followed Mr. Ponta's resignations few hours after him.
"We should no longer tolerate government incompetence, institutional inefficiency, and we cannot let corruption spread to the point that it kills people", Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stated on his Facebook profile yesterday, also adding "I understand what is being asked and what is expected , and they are right, someone has to take political responsibility.
The next step is for politicians, who cannot ignore this legitimate sentiment of revolt in the country".
The night club "Colective" was already reported to authorities for not being compliant with legal standards and had only one single-door exit, when it was required to have at least six.
There in the basement, a fire brought out over the concert of the heavy-metal group "Goodbye to Gravity", who were performing their last song "This is the day we die", witnesses reported, and thelead singermade a joke on stage about the fire before the fatal accident took place.
Alessia Agostinelli
