The Romanian Political Scene

In 25 years of post-Communism, Romania has never had early parliamentary elections.

România Internațional, 06.01.2015, 13:33

With an improved tonus since the victory in the presidential elections of its former leader, Klaus Iohannis, the National Liberal Party has announced it wants to take over the reins of government. And, in order to achieve that, it does not exclude the possibility of early elections. The party co-President, Alina Gorghiu, announced on Monday that a censure motion will be filed on February 1st, whose topic will be established after the drafting of the governing program. She admitted, though, that toppling the executive headed by the Social Democrat Victor Ponta is no easy job. Alina Gorghiu:

“ Obviously, we are not children and we are aware of the fact that this is a very difficult thing to accomplish”

Arithmetic definitely does not favour the liberals. The one-month old 4th Ponta cabinet got 377 votes in favour, and only 134 MPs, liberals and non-affiliated, voted against. Part of the government until December, the National Union of Ethnic Hungarians abstained from voting. The other co-President of the National Liberal Party, the former liberal-Democrat leader Vasile Blaga, has stated he will start talks with all parties, with the aim of forming a majority, which would oust the social-democrats. Vasile Blaga:

“When the governing program is ready, we will discuss it, to build a new majority around it. Obviously, discussions will be held with the parties represented in Parliament, except for the Social Democratic Party. “

On Facebook, which has become his main channel of communication after losing the presidential race in November 2014, Prime Minister Ponta has announced he is aware of the Liberal Party’s intentions. He has warned, though, that early elections would trigger political instability for about three months, and the liberals must be aware of and assume full responsibility for that. Also, the elections would be governed by the same election law, therefore the new legislative body would have the same number of members as the current one. That is why Ponta has called on the liberal leaders to first change the election law. Even the commentators that have absolutely no sympathy for the Prime Minister have stated that the idea is reasonable, as it would diminish the dramatic gap between politicians and citizens.

In 2009, during a referendum organized in full compliance with the legal provisions in force, three quarters of those who came to the polls voted for a single-chamber Parliament, made up of only 300 MPs. Three years later, following the introduction of the so called single-voting system, the Romanians discovered they were represented by no less than 588 MPs, making up for one of the most inflated and costly parliaments in Europe.