Balcony leap to protest at cutbacks

ROMANIA’S GOVERNMENT has survived a no-confidence vote that was disrupted by a man throwing himself off a balcony into the parliament chamber in protest at swingeing cutbacks.

Prime minister Emil Boc had just started to address MPs when their attention was drawn to the balcony about seven metres above their benches, where a man was standing on the rail.

According to some reports, he shouted “Boc, you’ve stolen the children’s future” before hurling himself down into the chamber. Television pictures showed him hitting the benches with a sickening thud, as some shocked MPs stared in horror while others turned away or crossed themselves.

Police and medical personnel were soon on the scene to take him away to hospital, where he was said to be in a non-life threatening condition with facial injuries.

The man was identified as Adrian Sobaru (40), an electrician working for Romanian state television. He was wearing a T-shirt saying “You’ve pierced us. You’ve killed our children’s future. Freedom.” The slogan echoed president Traian Basescu saying “I’ve pierced them” when he unexpectedly won re-election last year, using a quote from a popular Romanian film.

Romanian media reported that Mr Sobaru had been particularly distressed by a reduction to the benefit his family receives to help look after an autistic child.

Debt-ravaged Romania has cut public sector wages by 25 per cent, increased the retirement age, frozen pensions and hiked VAT to boost its budget and secure €20 billion from the International Monetary Fund and European Union.

Street protests and strikes have failed to derail the government’s austerity drive, and it survived yesterday’s no-confidence motion after opposition MPs declined to vote after a delay to treat and remove Mr Sobaru. Romania should now receive its next loan payment in January.