Social Democrats versus Social Democrats

In an unprecedented situation in 27 years of post-communist democracy, the coalition in power in Romania made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania tabled a motion of no confidence in their own Government

Bogdan Matei, 19.06.2017, 14:09

The 222 MPs who signed the no-confidence motion accuse PM Sorin Grindeanu on clinging to power. They claim the PM lost his legitimacy, after the ruling coalition, unhappy with the delays in implementing the governing programme, withdrew its political support, most ministers resigned and the Social Democrats expelled him from the party.

The motion will be discussed and voted on this Wednesday, and at least 233 votes are required in order for it to pass. The fluctuating arithmetic of the two sides deepens the suspense and makes the fate of the Cabinet unknown until the very last moment.

Although they make no secret of their wish to see the Government dismissed, the right-wing Opposition, comprising the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Peoples Movement Party, announced they would not interfere with the Social Democrats internal conflict, so they will not take part in the vote. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, which has no seats in the Government, but has signed a parliamentary cooperation protocol with the Power, refrains from making public their position until Wednesday.

So the Prime Minister, on the one hand, and the heads of the ruling coalition, the Social Democrat Liviu Dragnea and the Liberal Democrat Calin Popescu Tariceanu on the other, spare no efforts these days in order to maximize their chances. Asked by the media, the majority MPs promised to vote as the party instructs them to. Most of the local branches of the party have also announced they supported Dragnea. One notable exception is the Timis County organization, headed by Grindeanu himself, who even traveled there on Saturday to talk to people face to face.

In addition, he started to fill the vacancies in his Cabinet, and brought the former Social Democratic PM Victor Ponta as his new Secretary General. According to analysts, the latter is just one of a line of former prominent leftist leaders to join the Grindeanu Cabinet out of hostility toward Dragnea and may tip the scales in Grindeanus favour.

Meanwhile, the Government and the Social Democratic Party keep exchanging accusations. Grindeanu claims Dragnea wants all the power to himself. Dragnea retorts that his ungrateful trainee, whom he had nominated for the PM post, is now following orders coming from other, unclearly defined, command centres, be they the Presidency or the secret services.

Neutral commentators believe however that the Social Democrats are angry that Grindeanu failed to loosen the anti-corruption legislation, which many of them, including Dragnea, are trying to dodge. Already subject to a two-year suspended sentence, Dragnea is tried in a new corruption-related case, in which prosecutors accuse him of incitement to commit abuse of office.

Amused or outraged, people hope the settling of accounts in the Social Democratic Party to end quickly, because the countrys political instability is already affecting the economy. And the national currency, the leu, last week reached its lowest exchange rate against the Euro in 5 years. (Edited by D. Vijeu)