'We woke up in 1989' - Romanian graft decree turned back the clock

Protesters gather in front of the government building during a protest in Victoriei Square, in Bucharest, Romania, February 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alex Fraser

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - When fire tore through a Bucharest nightclub in 2015, victims were rushed to the city’s Floreasca hospital - but its newly-built, multi-million-euro burns unit was standing idle and could help no one.

Sixty-four people eventually died and the Social Democrat government was brought down within days by popular anger over the failure to enforce fire-safety regulations at the Colectiv nightclub, a failure blamed on endemic corruption and negligence.