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This Europe: Ill wishes for mayor who partied like lord

Alison Mutler
Wednesday 17 July 2002 00:00 BST
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With thousands of meatballs and enough beer, wine and soft drinks for tens of thousands of guests, it was some birthday party.

But the extravagant bash hosted by a Romanian mayor on Sunday has provoked outrage in a country where the average monthly salary is 3.3m lei (£65). Yesterday, the President, Ion Iliescu, said the mayor had "showed an indecent and unforgivable attitude" for hosting the party. He had behaved like "a medieval lord ... who calls the poor on his birthday to give them a few crumbs," Mr Iliescu said.

Dumitru Sechelariu, the mayor of the north-eastern city of Bacau, and a member of the ruling party, told the daily newspaper Pro Sport that his 44th birthday party had cost about 4bn lei. Some of the money came from municipal funds, the paper reported.

Some 50,000 residents showed up, along with the city's Orthodox clergy and football players, jostling to get tickets that entitled them to a free sausage or a free glass of beer.

At the party, Mr Sechelariu walked among the guests saying: "Thank you, good people, and I hope you elect me for the next 12 years," Pro Sport quoted him as saying.

An editorial in the Bucharest daily Evenimentul Zilei called the event "a party for a megalomaniac". The bash was the latest example of an ostentatious birthday party held by an official in an apparent attempt to win votes, although some Romanian leaders have spoken out against the practice.

The Prime Minister, Adrian Nastase, appealed last month to his admirers to tone down celebrations for his birthday after facing criticism a year earlier for a lavish party held in his honour.

Mr Sechelariu, a businessman and football club owner, said the purpose of the celebration – which he called "the Sunday of Generosity" – was to raise money for the poor. He said many of the guests donated money to the cause, with city officials estimating donations at 2.3bn lei.

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