Romania government falls after no confidence vote in PM

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila attends a debate on the priorities of the Romanian presidency of the E.U. for the next six months, at the European Parliament in Stras
Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila attends a debate on the priorities of the Romanian presidency of the E.U. for the next six months, at the European Parliament in Stras Copyright REUTERS/Vincent Kessler/File Photo
By Euronews & Reuters
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Social Democrat Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has been ousted by rival lawmakers

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Romania's government has fallen after Social Democrat Prime Minister Viorica Dancila lost a no-confidence vote.

Official data showed that 238 lawmakers voted to topple the Romanian PM, with the vote needing just 233 votes to pass.

The clash between the ruling party and the opposition was fierce, only 5 votes made the difference.

The vote was filed by the liberals, joined by Save Romania Union and other 4 parties. Unlike a previous motion filed this year, this one was successful.

"We have stopped the Social Democrat Party from hurting Romania," said Ludovic Orban, the leader of the opposition Liberal Party which spearheaded the no-confidence vote. "This is the start of a construction phase, which will bring modernization and will put the Government in the service of the people once again."

"I wish the others to come in front of the Parliament as soon as possible with a new Cabinet team. I send an appeal to the Romanian president to quickly appoint a new prime minister, so that they can assume the governing act", the Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, who lost the vote, said.

This no-confidence vote paves the way for a transitional government until a parliamentary election in late 2020.

The liberals want a new Government in place as soon as possible. Meanwhile, another party, Save Romania Union is pushing for snap elections.

President Klaus Iohannis will hold talks with all the parliamentary parties tomorrow, as he needs to appoint a new prime minister who would come up with a new Cabinet.

"The collapse of the PSD Government is the result of the normal reaction of the entire society to the abuses and incompetence of this Cabinet", president Ioannis said.

For many people in the country, this latest showdown is yet another sign that politicians are out of touch with Romanian society. Education and healthcare, for instance, are in shambles, but nobody seems to address that.

Political analyst Andrei Taranu told Euronews: “We are in a structural crisis, one that politicians are incapable to deal with. Therefore they’re putting forward some small crises that are easy to solve relatively quickly, without dealing with the painful issues in need of solving.”

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