LIVE TEXT The censure motion, voted today in Parliament. The Bolojan government can fall with 233 votes
The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies meet on Tuesday, at 11:00 a.m., in joint session, to vote on the censure motion initiated by PSD and AUR against the government led by Ilie Bolojan. In order for the motion to pass and the government to be dismissed, a minimum of 233 votes are needed in this regard.
The Bolojan government may fall with 233 votes PHOTO: Inquam Photos
The motion of censure against the Bolojan government was signed by 254 senators and deputies, but some of these parliamentarians publicly announced that they would not vote in favor of the move. It is about six elected on the POT lists, which form the so-called “United Party”, but also Senator Liviu Fodoca, a member of the PACE parliamentary group. In the last few days, the PNL negotiation teams, coordinated by MEP Dan Motreanu, held talks with various parliamentarians to convince them to vote against the motion or to abstain from the vote.
In parallel, Romania's economy suffers from uncertainties. The National Bank set a rate of 5.1998 lei to one euro on Monday, about 2% higher than a week ago. This could cause economic knock-on effects, including higher loan rates and higher prices for imported goods.
What would happen if the motion is voted on?
If the initiative meets the required number of votes, the Ilie Bolojan Government is automatically dismissed. From that moment on, the executive will perform only the acts of an individual or normative nature necessary for the administration of public affairs, until the swearing in of the members of the new cabinet.
“If next week the motion passes, the Government will remain in office in the form of an interim until the validation of a new government in Parliament”, stated Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Friday, in a press conference held in Suceava.
President Nicușor Dan, who returned earlier from Yerevan, where he participated in the Summit of the European Political Community, has the obligation to call the parliamentary parties to consultations for the appointment of a new candidate for the position of prime minister.
In the situation where the censure motion is rejected, the Bolojan government remains in office, but within 45 days of the resignation of the PSD ministers, it will have to present to the Parliament new proposals for holders of these positions.
“If the motion does not pass, the Government operates under normal conditions, that is, there is a need, in the next period, for parliamentary consultations so that even in this situation in which we find ourselves today, a relatively stable support formula can be found because we have priorities that must be resolved regardless of who is in government”. Bolojan specified.
What does the text of the motion say?
In the text of the motion, the Bolojan government is accused of wanting to hastily sell companies such as CEC Bank or Hidroelectrica in order to cover the holes in the budget, while Romanians are hit by ever-increasing taxes.
Also, the text of the motion shows that the reform of Prime Minister Bolojan is, in reality, an administrative failure and the measures that directly affected the vulnerable categories are heavily taxed, although the PSD was in government when it approved the cuts. The signatories of the document harshly criticize the term “rat” used by Prime Minister Bolojan in his public speech, when he compared the state companies' situation with “some rats gnawing away at the provisions“.
“Romania is not a commodity, and state companies are not assets to be liquidated to cover political failures. The government led by Ilie Bolojan has reached a point where it deliberately confuses reform with sale and strategy with improvisation. Under the pretext of obligations from the PNRR and some “exploratory analyses” quickly drawn up beforehand, the Executive is preparing the largest disposal of strategic assets in the last two decades, without consultation in the coalition, without public debate and without a minimum of political commitment. At the same time, the Government's public discourse raises serious questions. There is talk of the fact that the Romanians would be prepared to invest massively in these listings. A blatant lie!”, say the initiators of the censure motion.
Which governments were dismissed by motion of censure
Romania's post-December history records several cabinets that ended their mandate in this abrupt way. The first government to fall following such a vote in Parliament was the Emil Boc cabinet in the fall of 2009. It was followed by the Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu Government in the spring of 2012.
Later, the Parliament withdrew its support for the Sorin Grindeanu Government in the summer of 2017, after the current president of the PSD entered into conflict with Liviu Dragnea.
The cabinet headed by Viorica Dăncilă was dismissed in October 2019, and the Ludovic Orban Government fell at the beginning of 2020, after assuming responsibility for a draft law on the election of mayors in two voting rounds.
The most recent example is the Florin Cîțu government, dismissed with a record number of votes in October 2021.
