VIDEO The censure motion against the Bolojan Government is being debated and voted on today in the Parliament
The censure motion entitled “Romania is not for sale – without progressives in government” is to be debated and voted on Monday afternoon, in the plenary session of the two Chambers of the Parliament. Also today, from 4:00 p.m., the simple motion against Diana Buzoianu, the Minister of the Environment, initiated by AUR, will be voted on in the Senate.
Ilie Bolojan arrived at the Parliament.
The parliamentary initiative was presented, a week ago, by the senator of the Pace – First Romania group, Ninel Peia.
The censure motion is to be debated and voted on today, from 2:00 p.m. It comes a week after the elections in Bucharest, won by Ciprian Ciucu (PNL).
The motion calls for the resignation of the “Progressive Government” led by Ilie Bolojan, on the grounds that it “demonstrated its inability to manage finances, health, education, social protection, justice and public administration – all the vital areas that define the life of a free and dignified people”, according to Agerpres.
“Citizens are paying the price, and the Government continues to confuse austerity with efficiency, and external shopping with national development. Romania can no longer tolerate this toxic combination of incompetence and indifference. Therefore, we ask the Parliament to take note of the Government's failure and to adopt the appropriate constitutional measures – more specifically, the dismissal of the Bolojan Cabinet. The Romanian people deserve more than empty promises and policies that impoverish them. They deserve a government that serves national interests, not those of political convenience or of affairs ordered by foreign interests (…)”, the text of the censure motion states.
What Ilie Bolojan said
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan declared last Wednesday, December 10, on the Friendly Fire show that he has no emotions about the censure motion, claiming that he is not clinging to a certain position.
“I have no emotions about the censure motion, but I would not want you to understand that I am clinging to a certain position. What do we need to understand? Regardless of who is prime minister and what parliamentary majority we have, the problems facing Romania do not disappear. They must be attacked, they must be managed and it is not an easy thing to do this process of managing them, correcting deficits, creating conditions for development, negotiating contracts and so on,” said Ilie Bolojan.
“Of course, we will see the solidity of the coalition. Including in such situations, when there is a motion of censure, it is best tested”, said Bolojan.
What are the chances of the censure motion passing
The censure motion is initiated by the Pace – First Romania group in the Senate, made up of parliamentarians elected on the SOS Romania lists, and is supported by the AUR parliamentarians who will sign and vote on it.
In order for the censure motion to pass, 232 votes out of 463 are needed, a number that the opposition does not have. In total, the four parties (PSD-PNL-USR-UDMR) that form the government have 293 MPs, to which are added 16 deputies from the group of national minorities, a group that supports the Government in Parliament. So, mathematically, without support from coalition MPs, the initiative cannot pass.
The leader of the PSD, Sorin Grindeanu, announced on December 9 that, if the PSD decides to leave the government, it will be an accepted decision, and he will not vote on the censure motion.
“Obviously we will not vote for this motion of censure, because we are partners in this coalition. It is out of the question. If we decide as a result of the vote given by my colleagues (…) that we will leave the government, from the coalition, we will leave, that means assumed. We do not vote for such a thing,” said Grindeanu, at the end of a PSD leadership meeting.
Simple motion in the Senate against Diana Buzoianu
Also today, from 4:00 p.m., the Senate will debate and vote on the simple motion initiated by AUR entitled “Prahova under siege. Over 100,000 Romanians condemned to thirst and disease under the complicit gaze of the Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu”.
The signatories of the simple motion demand the resignation of the Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu, for cutting off the water supply to 13 localities in Prahova and Dâmbovița counties and 'ignoring' the situation of dams in Romania.
The leader of the AUR senators, Petrișor Peiu, announced, in plenary, the submission of the motion, supported by 39 senators.
The signatories accuse Buzoianu of incompetence, “which led to the suspension of the supply of drinking water to more than 100,000 inhabitants, the closure of hospitals in Prahova County, the Brazi power plant, educational units and public institutions”.
