Democrat Liberal leaders did not push to discuss President Basescu's proposal to tax pensions and decrease VAT from 24% to 19%. Also in the news, the state will cash in 600 million lei monthly if all pensions would be taxed. President Basescu seems to lose electoral ground: 55% of Romanians have a bad opinion about Basescu's visits in flooded areas.

President Basescu's proposal to tax all pensions is sustained in the government. However, PM Boc declared on Sunday that the VAT will be decreased only if necessary measures to cover revenues will be found.

Gandul reads that Democrat Liberals avoid naming the possible conflict between the President and the government on the measures needed to increase state revenues. Leaders of the Democrat Liberal Party reject the idea of the President on grounds that it cuts electoral mileage and there is a risk for the Court to consider it unconstitutional as it happened before with pension cuts.

Meanwhile, Democrat Liberals across the country are dissatisfied that austerity measures were implemented locally but centrally, ministers delay it.

Gandul reads that if the government decides to tax pensions, it would cash in 600 million lei monthly - ten times more than it currently cashes in. A diminish of pensions by 15% would bring to the budget less.

Currently, the state cashes in 15 million euro montly by taxing 16% high pensions (at least 1000 lei). The explanation is simple: most retired people have low pensions - well below 1000 lei. Less than 1 million of the 5.5. million retired people in Romania do not receive more than 1,000 lei monthly. The rest, 79.5% of them do not cash in more than 1.500 lei.

Cotidianul quotes a public survey of a Romanian survey institute, IRES that reads that 55% of Romanians have a bad opinion about