A liberal leader says that the PNL has no other option than a new government with the PSD. “Bolojan has a big problem with this motion”

A liberal leader from the territory claims that there is no other solution for the PNL, with a view to a future government, than entering a new coalition with the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

Valeriu Iftime, the interim president of the Botoșani territorial branch of the National Liberal Party, also says that his party must remain in power.

“I still hope that the PNL will remain in government in the future, in a formula with a restructured PSD or with a different policy, with a different speed, so that the brakes are no longer pulled, as Mr. Bolojan says. I see no other form of government than a very serious compromise with the AUR, with the PSD, and I believe that the president will not accept this situation,” Iftime declared for Agerpres on Tuesday.

“My opinion is that the liberals should remain in government, because there is a certain logic to things and a point of balance in this development, because what the government led by Mr. Bolojan has done so far, a coalition government, that's right, but with a very serious prime minister, this is the path we must follow. If we deviate from this path, I think it will be complicated for every Romanian,” he added.

PNL must “listen to other people's music”

On the other hand, the liberal leader from Botoșani claims that, as long as the PNL has only 14% of the current Parliament, it cannot have its own music, so “it has to listen to other people's”.

“The fact that we are 14 percent in Romania, the liberals, somehow you don't really have your music. You have to listen to it. Unfortunately, Mr. Bolojan, whom I respect enormously, has a big problem with this motion and our withdrawal from the government, which we approved, still needs to be discussed,” said Valeriu Iftime.

Businessman and patron of the local football team, PNL leader Botoșani was interim national first vice-president of the liberals between November and December 2024, a position from which he resigned on his own initiative.

Later, at the PNL congress in July 2025, he ran for the same position, first vice-president of the PNL, but was not elected by the congress participants.

The censure motion submitted by PSD, AUR and PACE – Romania First will be read on Wednesday in the combined plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, and on May 5 it will be debated and voted on.

On Wednesday, from 12:30 p.m., the censure motion will be read in the common plenary. On May 5, next Tuesday, from 11:00, the motion will be debated and voted on. Voting will be secret, with balls.

The motion is entitled “STOP the “Bolojan Plan” to destroy the economy, impoverish the population and fraudulently sell the state's wealth”. It was submitted to Parliament on Tuesday and was signed by 253 MPs.

PSD insists that the motion targets Bolojan

The PSD considers that the submission and adoption of a motion of censure against a prime minister “lacking legitimacy and without parliamentary support” is a democratic process, regulated at the constitutional level, and announced that it managed to secure the support of a parliamentary majority for the motion's vote.

“PSD collected the necessary votes for the dismissal of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. PSD managed to secure the support of a parliamentary majority for the motion of censure against Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. Thus, PSD will achieve a profound change in the way of governance, as requested by the vast majority of Romanian citizens. PSD emphasizes that submitting and adopting a motion of censure against a prime minister lacking legitimacy and without parliamentary support is a democratic process, regulated at the constitutional level. This mechanism has was provided for in the Constitution of Romania precisely to prevent a governmental deadlock caused by the prime minister's refusal to accept a political reality that no longer allows him to exercise his position of leading the Government”, the social democrats said in a press release.

PSD claims that Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's “inability” to respect his governing partners and to be “receptive” to the problems and concerns of Romanians significantly affected the governing act and produced numerous institutional blockages.

“Because of the Prime Minister's hubris and political stubbornness, Romania fell into recession, consumption collapsed, production fell, and inflation cut into citizens' purchasing power. It would have been irresponsible of the PSD not to intervene to stop this economic and social decline! Beyond the demagogic speech, Prime Minister Bolojan failed to implement any genuine reform in the 10 months he led the Government of Romania. The insinuation that has reformed Romania by cutting revenues, by increasing taxes, by impoverishing the population and by fiscally suffocating Romanian SMEs and entrepreneurs, denotes a rudimentary understanding of economic mechanisms and a total disconnection from the realities in Romania”, the PSD also states.

The social democrats also say that the withdrawal of political support for Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and his dismissal through the democratic mechanism of the motion of censure open the way for the formation of a functional government, which will be led by a prime minister capable of collaboration.