Ilie Bolojan government collapses
The government led by the Liberal prime minister Ilie Bolojan was dismissed through a no-confidence motion on Tuesday.
Daniela Budu, 06.05.2026, 14:00
The government led by the liberal Ilie Bolojan was dismissed on Tuesday following the adoption of a no-confidence motion initiated by the Social Democratic Party, the Alliance for the Union of Romania and PACE – Romania First. The motion passed with 281 votes in favour, 4 against, and 3 votes annulled, with the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union saying they would not take part in the voting. 233 votes were needed for the motion to pass and the government to be dismissed. The government thus lost the support of Parliament and becomes interim for a maximum period of 45 days, during which time it has limited powers.
The debates in the Parliament’s plenary session were heated. The initiators of the motion criticised the measures taken by the government, which they said led to economic recession and poverty, accusations rejected by Ilie Bolojan, who denounced what he called the “hypocrisy” of the Social Democrats, who were part of the ruling coalition and who themselves took part in the measures to cut state spending.
After the vote on the motion and the dismissal of the government, the National Liberal Party met and decided to move into opposition, “exercising an active, responsible and constructive role in the best interest of citizens and economic stability”, as the party’s representatives said. Ilie Bolojan said the National Liberal Party is a party with dignity, which will build a pole of modernisation, a modern Romania, a state that creates conditions for the prosperity for citizens.
The Save Romania Union also said it no longer wants to be in government alongside the Social Democrats and, after an emergency meeting, proposed closer collaboration with the Liberals and coordination between the two parties for consultations with the president. Their leader, Dominic Fritz, gave assurances that his party will continue its reformist line and will propose a political agreement to the Liberals to adopt a common approach in the immediate future.
The leader of the Social Democratic Party Sorin Grindeanu said the overwhelming vote in favour of the motion shows broader support than expected and believes that the parties must quickly find a solution for collaboration. George Simion, the president of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, a nationalist party now in opposition, said his party is ready to be part of a future government.
One of the leaders of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania Tánczos Barna, believes that it will take weeks or perhaps months to form a new parliamentary majority.
After the dismissal of the government, the country’s president Nicuşor Dan, who played a key role in forming the previous coalition government, issued a statement to announce the start of negotiations to form a new government. He gave assurances that Romania will have a new pro-Western government in place within a reasonable time and ruled out the possibility of early elections. “Romania is a stable state, the state institutions are working and Romania stays on its track” Nicuşor Dan also said in his statement.
