Budapest. Sept 30, (dpa/GNA) – The latest Romanian attempt at forming a new government failed on Wednesday, almost five months after the ousting of pro-European Prime Minister, Ilie Bolojan.
A colleague from Bolojan’s centre-right PNL party, Siegfried Muresan, failed to secure the necessary majority in parliament, as had been widely expected after President Nicusor Dan, nominated him for the post. Only 182 MPs and senators voted in his favour, with 15 votes against.
Lawmakers from the opposition Social Democrats (PSD) and the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), largely boycotted the vote. Muresan would have needed at least 233 votes from the 465 members of the two combined chambers of parliament. The only parties to give him clear support were his own party, the PNL, the small liberal-conservative USR, and the Hungarian minority party, the UDMR. Together, these three parties do not hold a majority.
Muresan had been hoping for votes from the PSD, who form the largest parliamentary group.
This marks the second failed attempt to form a government in parliament, since Bolojan’s downfall on May 5. He continues to hold office in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.
The country’s president would now have the right to call a snap general election. However, he is not obliged to do so and propose further candidates.
So far, Dan has repeatedly rejected the idea of a snap election, leaving no end in sight to the political crisis in Romania.
Bolojan’s ousting, followed a motion of no confidence tabled by the PSD and the AUR, both of which refused to support Muresan from the outset.
However, even the PSD and AUR do not jointly hold a stable majority in parliament. Further votes against Muresan came from fringe parties and independents.
Muresan ,44, had promised to continue Bolojan’s austerity and reform policies, in order to reduce the country’s debt and help Romania retain the confidence of rating agencies. He has been a member of the European Parliament in Strasbourg since the 2014 European elections.
There, he sits in the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) group.
GNA