Romania’s pro-European coalition collapses – Michael West
Romania’s pro-European coalition collapsed after MPs voted against Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan less than a year after he was sworn in, triggering new turmoil in the European country.
Tuesday’s vote of confidence was a blow to Bolojan, who came to power aiming to end one of the worst political crises in Romania’s post-communist history.
The Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the nationalist opposition party Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) jointly submitted the proposal to Parliament on 28 April.
PSD withdrew from the coalition last month. On Tuesday, 281 MPs voted in favor and four voted against.
MPs from the Bolojan National Liberal Party (PNL) and its coalition partners, the Save the Romanian Union Party and the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party abstained.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan appealed for calm, saying that “even though it was not a happy moment… this was a democratic decision taken by the parliament” and that negotiations and informal consultations to form a new government were continuing.
“We will have a new government within a reasonable period of time,” Dan said.
“I exclude the early election scenario and emphasize this: At the end of these procedures, we will have a pro-Western government, we will go through this process calmly.”
Romania faced a long period of instability after the presidential election in December 2024 was annulled.
The country is also grappling with one of the highest budget deficits in the European Union, high inflation and a technical recession. When the coalition was voted in June, it promised to reduce the budget deficit and identified the issue as one of its top priorities.
PSD has often found itself at odds with Bolojan over austerity measures including tax increases, freezes on public sector wages and pensions, and cuts in state spending and public administration jobs.
Last week, the party accused Bolojan of “failing to implement any real reforms” during the 10 months he led the government and said Romania needed a leader who could “cooperate”.
Bolojan said he had taken tough but necessary fiscal measures that “effectively restored markets’ confidence in the Romanian government.”
Bolojan also called the no-confidence motion “cynical and artificial” and said ahead of the vote that it “looks like it was written every day by people who are not in government and do not participate in all decisions.”
PSD party leader Sorin Grindeanu said Bolojan should appoint an interim prime minister until MPs elect him to the post. He also stated that he expects Romanian President Nicusor Dan to consult the PSD.
“I want us to quickly find a solution together with other parties and move forward,” Grindeanu said.
“All options are open.”
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