Romania’s pro-European coalition collapses
· Michael West
Romania’s pro-European coalition has collapsed after lawmakers voted against Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, less than a year after he was sworn in, triggering fresh turmoil in the European country.
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The no-confidence vote on Tuesday was a blow to Bolojan, who came to power with the aim of ending one of Romania’s worst political crises in its post-communist history.
The Social Democratic Party, or PSD, and the nationalist opposition Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party, or AUR, jointly submitted the motion to Parliament on April 28.
The president is calling for calm after the no-confidence vote brought down the government. (EPA PHOTO)PSD withdrew from the coalition last month. On Tuesday, 281 lawmakers voted in favour and four voted against.
Lawmakers from Bolojan’s National Liberal Party, or PNL, and coalition partners, Save Romania Union party and the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party, abstained.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan called for calm on, saying that while it is “not a happy moment … it is a democratic decision by parliament,” and that negotiations and informal consultations to form a new government were underway.
“We will have a new government within a reasonable time,” Dan said.
“I exclude the scenario of early elections. And I emphasise: at the end of these procedures, we will have a pro-Western government – we will calmly get through this.”
Romania has faced a long period of instability after the annulment of a presidential election in December 2024.
The country has also grappled with one of the highest budget deficits in the European Union, rampant inflation, and a technical recession. In June, when the coalition was voted in, it pledged to reduce the budget deficit, marking it a top priority.
The PSD had often found itself at loggerheads with Bolojan over austerity measures, including tax hikes, public-sector wage and pension freezes, and cuts to state spending and public administration jobs.
Last week, the party accused Bolojan of “failing to implement any genuine reform” in his 10 months leading the government, and said Romania needs a leader who is “capable of collaboration”.
Bolojan said that he took tough but necessary fiscal measures that effectively “regained the trust of the markets in the Romanian government”.
Bolojan also called the no-confidence motion “cynical and artificial” and said before the vote that it “seems to be written by people who were not in government every day and did not participate in all the decisions”.
The PSD party’s president, Sorin Grindeanu, said Bolojan should appoint an interim prime minister until one is voted into office by lawmakers. He also said he expected Romanian President Nicusor Dan to consult PSD.
“I would like us to quickly find a solution … together with the other parties and move forward,” Grindeanu said.
“All options are open.”