Romania after the no-confidence motion
On Thursday, the Social Democratic Government collapsed after a no-confidence vote, right before the start of the campaign for November's presidential elections
Corina Cristea, 11.10.2019, 12:40
After the removal of Dancilas Cabinet by means of a no-confidence motion, president Klaus Iohannis called all parliamentary parties for consultations, pleading for a government with a clear mandate, which would provide a responsible and effective governing until the next parliamentary elections, no matter when theyre to be held. As regards the political stability that Romania needs, the head of state said he supported the solution of early elections:
“The best solution for rendering Parliament legitimate is, obviously, resorting to peoples vote, which means holding early elections. But this can only be done provided the current parliamentary parties reach a consensus.”
As regards the options supported by the political parties, there are several scenarios, starting from early elections, a solution promoted by the Save Romania Union-PLUS and the National Liberal Party, to supporting a minority government by means of cooperation protocols. According to the constitution, the designated candidate has 10 days to form a cabinet and to develop a governing program, which has to be endorsed by parliament.
Not only the fragmentation of the political forces in Parliament, but also the limitations imposed by the Constitution increase the level of uncertainty, explained for Radio Romania the former president of the Constitutional Court Augustin Zegrean. He has also stressed the fact that the fall of the government comes at a very complicated time, politically wise, just before the start of the campaign for the November 10 presidential elections:
“If they want to push for early elections, then this would happen after the New Years, because this year the current president cannot dissolve parliament, given there are less than 6 months of term in office. Actually, the term ends on December 21st. Its hard to believe that another president will come at Christmas and the first thing they will do will be to dissolve parliament. So, if the solution is early elections, that would probably happen sometime in spring. If they want to form a government, they can do it next week, even; theres no problem.”
The international media has too analyzed the political situation in Romania. The motion was supported by 238 MPs, but only 233 votes were needed to oust the left-wing government, accused of undermining Romanias image in Europe with its Euro-skeptical rhetoric, reads La Libre Belgique. The New York Times writes that the opposition has accused the Dancila Government of bad economic management, of having deteriorated public safety and trying to bring the judiciary under its control.
As regards the option of early elections, which Romania has never resorted to before, Bloomberg reads that its unlikely, given the presidential elections due next month. According to Euronews, to many Romanians, this last confrontation between the countrys political forces is one more sign that politicians are not in contact with Romanian society, in which education and health-care are a mere chaos. Finally, LExpress warns that this political turbulence comes against the background of worrying economic indicators, and any new government would have to make some unpopular choices in order to balance the countrys budget.
