In December 2016, Romania’s political landscape changed following the parliamentary elections. The Social Democratic Party (PSD, successor to the Romanian Communist Party) won a plurality of seats (around 44%) in both the upper and lower chambers of Parliament, but fell short of securing a simple majority. With the help of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), on 4 January 2017 the PSD formed a government led by Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu. The PSD dominated the Romanian Parliament for much of the post-communist period, and many more of its politicians are corrupt than members of other political parties. Romania has struggled with high levels of corruption in every field of life, from the elementary school student who must bribe her teacher, to medical doctors expecting or demanding bribes, all the way to corrupt politicians embezzling large funds from the country’s budget and from the European Union (EU). After joining the EU ten years ago, Romania was asked to control its corruption, but it has remained one of the most corrupt members of the EU, alongside sister Orthodox countries like Greece and Bulgaria. Continue Reading…