Incumbent Gabriela Firea (PSD) and mayor hopeful Nicușor Dan (“candidate of the right”) are in a tight race for Bucharest City Hall, currently only separated by two percentage points. If elected, Dan promises to get rid of the capital’s six administrative sectors. Manufacturing is picking up again after the lockdown and other coranavirus measures, with a Norwegian maritime crane company opening up shop in Sfântu Gheorghe and the German Daimler Group increasing production of transmission gearboxes in Sebeș, Alba county. And according to a new study, the average download speed in Romania has tripled since last year, meaning you can read this week’s issue of Romanian Dispatch while simultaneously streaming audio and downloading a whole library in the background…

Romanian Dispatch #5 (September 4-11, 2020)