No-confidence motion against the Dancila cabinet

The no-confidence motion against the Dancila cabinet, initiated by the National Liberal Party and backed by the Save Romania Union and the Peoples Movement Party, was read out in a plenary session of Parliament on Monday and will be debated and voted upo

Corina Cristea, 26.06.2018, 12:57

The government formed by
the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats is this
week taking the test of a no-confidence motion in Parliament. Initiated by the National Liberal Party and backed by the Save Romania Union and
the People’s Movement Party, the no-confidence motion against the Dancila
cabinet was read out in a plenary session of Parliament on Monday and will be
debated and voted upon on Wednesday. The government is criticised, among
others, for the changes brought to the Code of Criminal Procedure, by limiting
the role of the Romanian President, and for the negative economic evolution.

Liberal MP Robert Sighartau, the one who presented the document in Parliament, has
said the current cabinet has taken the inflation rate to 5.4%, a record high in
the past five years. The signatories to the document also claim the country’s
fiscal policy has been ruined by frequent changes to the Fiscal Code. The text
of the motion also shows that the much promised highways have not been built in
infrastructure, investments have been ignored in research and education, and
pay rises in the healthcare system have left hospitals without minimal
functioning resources.

Robert Sigartau: The policy pursued by the Romanian Government in the social domain is
guided by the principle ‘take it from some and give it to others’, because the
Government is incapable of evenly distributing the potential wealth generated
by economic growth. You do not have enough money to cover the payment of
pensions and salaries by the end of the year, although you claim that the
country registers economic growth.

The Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians in Romania has announced that it will decide whether or not
it will endorse the no-confidence motion, whereas the leader of the
non-affiliated MPs, former Social Democratic PM Victor Ponta, currently the
president of the newly set up ProRomânia Party, said they want the current
cabinet to be replaced, but not in any circumstances.

In their turn, the
representatives of the ethnic minorities and at least theoretically even a part
of the Social-Democrats might tilt the balance during the voting, against the
backdrop of the new situation created in the party after their leader, Liviu
Dragnea, was handed a prison sentence by the court of first instance. However,
Dragnea claims the no-confidence motion will not be passed by Parliament, as on
the voting day the Social-Democrats will ensure the session quorum, but will
refrain from voting.

Liviu Dragnea: We will be present, as many of
us as necessary to ensure the session quorum, but we will not vote. Let them
secure the necessary number of votes if they initiated the no-confidence
motion. Why should we get involved in this move taken by the opposition? May
they secure votes!

The favourable votes of
233 MPs are needed for the motion to be passed and topple the Government that
is some tens more than the overall number of votes cast by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement
Party MPs.