Thousands protest in Moldova after PM hastily sworn in at midnight
Jan 21 At least 8,000 people protested in the Moldovan capital on Thursday against the appointment of Prime Minister Pavel Filip, whose hasty swearing-in ceremony at midnight also prompted a government spokesman to resign.
Parliament appointed Filip in hopes of ending months of political stalemate after the previous government was toppled in a no-confidence vote in October.
But the move has caused a backlash from opposition lawmakers and prompted a series of protests from citizens unhappy with Filip's close ties to a prominent oligarch. There is widespread anger at Moldova's ruling elites after a $1 billion banking fraud plunged the country into crisis last year.
The repeated protests threaten to derail Filip's chances of running a stable government, at a time when Moldova sees its economy sinking and is trying to negotiate new funding from overseas lenders, including the International Monetary Fund.
http://www.reuters.com/article/moldova-politics-idUSL8N1552K7