Balkan Democracies Fray as Anti-Austerity Boosts Radicals
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Austerity is starting to tug at the seams of Europe’s youngest democracies.
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s drive to oust the president, whose budget cuts drew praise from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, will come to a head in a July 29 referendum. Incoming Serbian Premier Ivica Dacic threatened to sack the central bank chief and declared foreign banks an “enemy.” The leu and the dinar fell to record lows against the euro as debt costs soared.