The winner of this week's general election in Romania will face a difficult task to maintain economic growth, an expert has said.

Radu Craciun, chief investment officer at US pension fund Interamerican, stated that the new government will have to handle the effects of the global downturn.

However, he told BBC News that the incumbent government may not be able to deliver on some of its election promises should it win office again.

"I am sure that many populist policies they are talking about now will never see the light of day when the new government is up and running," he commented.

Mr Craciun said Romania will eventually have to deal the reality of financing the country's "ballooning" deficit in 2009.

Nevertheless, he added that the government still has time to adjust the pace of growth to ensure the economy has a "soft landing".

Meanwhile, Nicolaie Alexandru-Chidesciuc of ING Bank Romania has said the Romanian opposition is benefiting from the global crisis, as it is ahead in the polls.

Speaking to Bloomberg, he warned that a victory for the Social Democrats would be bad for the country, as they would not promote fiscal responsibility.