People have the feeling again and again that this whole country should be checked, meter by meter - writes János Szántai in Főtér regarding the nursing home scandal that exploded this week.
After the big dust-up cases (of course, not before, not regularly, as would be normal), the Prime Minister issued the order: to strictly check the various homes across the country, regardless of whether they belong to minors, the elderly or the disabled.
And after the first few days of checks, Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu announced the sad results so far on Thursday.
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So far, a total of 1,037 homes have been inspected by the competent authorities.
And above all, they found 24 homes that were operating happily without any official permission, outside the law.
A total of 13 homes were closed (which is mathematically a small number compared to 1,037, but practically outrageously large), nine criminal proceedings were initiated, and 144 residents were relocated.
Cancellations
Marius Budăi, the Minister of Labor of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), resigned on Thursday because of the scandal surrounding the nursing homes.
Political analyst Marius Văcărelu previously told Maszol that the political consequences of the scandal surrounding nursing homes are inevitable.
“The most important consequence will be to disprove the perception that the PSD is a party that cares about the elderly.
Their reputation for political and administrative competence has disappeared for more than ten years, also as a result of the wrong choice of leader. Now their main propaganda theme, attention to the elderly, which has so far brought the social democrats the most votes from the poor, the low-educated and people over 55 in general, is falling apart," the expert detailed PSD's expected losses.
Family Affairs Minister Gabriela Firea also resigned. The social democratic politician had a short conversation with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Friday, after which the decision was made, according to government sources speaking to the Romanian press. The minister announced the decision on his Facebook page. The Minister of Digitalization Bogdan Ivan temporarily takes over the position of Minister of Family Affairs.
He also announced his resignation on Firea's personal Facebook page. "I will pay for trusting others," he said.
Firea is connected to the nursing home scandal in several ways.
In addition to being his advisor, he was previously a board member of a foundation that operated a nursing home, and his brother worked in the social affairs office. What's more, Ștefan Godei, who is suspected of managing the centers, was the office's driver during Firea's tenure as mayor of Bucharest. In addition, the cruelties at the nursing home took place in the town of Voluntari, where Florentin Pandele, the husband of the outgoing minister, is the mayor.
Főtér, Maszol
Featured Image: Pixabay
