Romanian Liberal government dismissed in censure motion – second to fall in less then six months

The Romanian Parliament on Wednesday dismissed the Liberal government led by Ludovic Orban in a censure motion tabled by the opposition Social Democrats. The government falls 3 months and 1 day after taking office.

The motion passed with 261 votes, way more than the necessary 233.

Shortly after the vote, PM Orban said his government was proud of what it accomplished in just several months and that if fell to a Parliament dominated by „retrograde forces”. He later said Romanians would be called „as early as possible” to polls to decide the fate of the country.

This is the second Romanian government to fall in a censure motion in less than half a year.

Last fall, the previous Social Democratic (PSD) government of Viorica Dancila fell in a censure motion, putting an end to years of a PSD rule that saw Romanian authorities causing havoc in the sectors such as justice and sustainable economy.

The fall of that government allowed a government of Liberals (PNL) to take over, under the leadership of Ludovic Orban with support from President Iohannis. But both Orban and Iohannis have been pushing for early elections to strengthen their hold and get rid of the PSD pressure in Parliament, as PSD is still the biggest party there.

This is, despite Romania was due to hold general elections this year anyway.

Now, by losing the censure motion, a key hurdle in the way of organising early elections has been overcome. The president has to table two new government proposals and these to be dismissed in Parliament before early elections are called. The Liberals plan to come before the parliament with two teams and have their MPs vote against those proposals, so that both fail and early elections be called. More background here