Nursing Homes Scandal to Topple Politicians in Romania

The nursing homes scandal in Romania is about to topple politicians, not only executives. The infamous nursing homes where seniors with disabilities were tortured, beaten and mistreated by the very personnel who was supposed to take care of them generated fury in a country where the old population has a long history of mistreatment, from low pensions to inadequate care in hospitals and now in nursing homes.

The authorities failed to see the abuses happening in these private nursing homes. More than that, the law-enforcement agencies reveal an entire mafia-type connection, with the owner in close relation with the authorities that were supposed to control the nursing home. Not only that, but the local media revealed that out of EUR 30,000 that the owner collected each month, he only used EUR 5,000 for food and maintenance of the nursing home, while the rest was his profit.

Among the prominent politicians targeted in the campaign, the local journalists started are the current Minister for the Family, Gabriela Firea, the former Bucharest Mayor. Her ties with the administrator of the infamous nursing home, who was her driver while she was General Mayor of Bucharest, are about to cost her the candidature for the position of General Mayor in 2024. Still, it’s yet too early to tell.

Another politician whose resignation is requested is the Minister for Labor, Marius Budai. Both politicians are leftists, members of the Social-Democratic Party, the same political formation now part of the Governing coalition. More than that, the current Prime Minister is a Socialist and has to decide whether to fire the two ministers, sacrificing the party’s chances for next year’s elections in Bucharest, or keep the ministers and lose the popularity of its party.

Our political sources say Marius Budai is the one who is to be sacrificed and to be fired by the Prime Minister, thus saving Gabriela Firea.

It’s a tough decision for Premier Marcel Ciolacu, who is also confronted with Agriculture, Construction and IT protests. These industries are about to lose the tax exemptions they enjoy at present.

The scandal of the nursing homes is getting bigger each day, and new details appear and reveal the horror the seniors had to suffer, even though they paid to be adequately treated and cared for. At the same time, this scandal shows the level of corruption and the indifference to the human values of those looking to profit at all costs.