ROMANIA: Romania's prime minister has withdrawn his resignation, amid pressure to spearhead the country's recovery from major floods and push through key reforms aimed at clinching EU accession in 2007, writes Dan McLaughlin in Budapest.
But while premier Calin Tariceanu's decision may have calmed Brussels' fears of instability in Romania, it has also threatened to cause a rift in the nation's ruling coalition.
"When I announced my resignation I didn't have the prospect of a country affected by floods," Mr Tariceanu said, after two weeks of torrential rain which killed at least 21 people, destroyed roads and railways and left dozens of communities under water.
"A courageous leader cannot abandon his people in hard times," the prime minister said. "It would be a sign of weakness if I were to resign."
Mr Tariceanu offered his resignation after the Constitutional Court blocked reforms aimed at increasing the independence and transparency of Romania's legal system, which is a crucial part of a package of reforms demanded by the EU.
He said he would call early elections to strengthen the power of his allies in parliament and then force through the reforms despite the opposition of the country's highest court, which is full of supporters of the former communists who lost last year's polls. But Mr Tariceanu - who before resigning had seemed less keen than the president Traian Basescu to call early elections - changed his mind after a visit to Brussels.
"Rebuilding the country . . . needs strong political will and a major administrative and financial involvement of the government," he said yesterday. "We will allocate every minute, every hour, every day, every month to EU accession . . . This is my political commitment."