Romanian government survives no-confidence vote

Romanian government survives no-confidence vote
By Carmen Simion in Bucharest December 20, 2018

The Romanian government survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on December 20, as expected.

The no-confidence motion was backed by only 161 MPs while three others voted against it. The motion needed 233 votes in favour to pass.

The MPs from the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (Alde), as well as MPs from the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), that usually supports the government, did not cast their votes, according to digi24.ro.

Surprisingly, the motion was voted by a lower number of MPs than those who had signed it. The document submitted in parliament last week was backed by a total of 163 MPs from the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union (USR) and the Popular Movement Party (PMP), as well as unaffiliated MPs close to former prime minister Victor Ponta.

During the debate prior to the vote, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila stressed she is not going to resign because she is sure “Romania is following the good path,” and that Romanians appreciate the measures taken by the ruling coalition.

The head of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, said the MPs from his party, although unhappy with the government, had decided not to cast their votes because there are not enough MPs to change the government and because the opposition has not offered an alternative, a possible prime minister or a governing programme, news.ro reported.

Hunor also said he disapproves of the fiscal changes announced by the ruling coalition which “blow into the air the bourse, the economy and above all hope.”

“Mrs PM maybe you could convince the finance minister that this country is not a laboratory where all crazy ideas are experimented,” the UDMR leader said.

During the debate, the USR leader, Dan Barna, claimed that every hour Dancila and PSD leader Liviu Dragnea spend at the leadership of Romania represents “a threat for our future as a nation.”

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