romania-victor-ponta

Romanian Prime Minister & other government members resign after nightclub fire; club owners arrested

Victor Ponta

Over the weekend, it was reported that a fire broke out in a Romanian nightclub during metal band Goodbye to Gravity’s show. At first 27 were fatalities were announced, but that number has since risen to 32 and three owners of the club were also arrested. Now, as Rolling Stone reports, several members of the Romanian government have resigned:

Prime minister Victor Ponta and Cristian Popescu Piedone, mayor of the district where the Colectiv nightclub was located, both resigned Wednesday amidst protests in the Romanian capital about the corrupt government that allowed these unsafe venues to remain open.

“I’m handing in my mandate. I’m resigning – and implicitly my government too,” Ponta said of his Social Democratic party after 20,000 protestors swarmed the capital. “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 protesters.”

The Guardian also mentions that protestors are also urging Romanian interior minister Gabriel Oprea to resign.

The Rolling Stone article also points out that the nightclub fire isn’t the sole reason Ponta is resigning. They write, “The politician is facing a litany of corruption charges stemming from both before and after he took the prime minister’s office. Those charges include tax evasion, money laundering, conflict of interest, forging expense claims and more.”