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Romanian parliament votes to oust pro-EU PM
Romania's parliament on Tuesday voted to oust liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in a motion of no confidence initiated by the Social Democrats and the far right, deepening political turmoil in the EU and NATO country bordering Ukraine.
The left-wing Social Democrats was accused of legitimising extremist politics after it joined with the country's main far-right party AUR to file the motion.
The motion received 281 votes in the 464-seat parliament. Bolojan's liberals and his allies were present, but did not vote.
The Social Democrats, the country's biggest party, quit the government last month.
The AUR has passed the Social Democratics in surveys since the last parliamentary elections, sitting at around 37 percent.
Political scientist Costin Ciobanu told AFP the Social Democrats' move had turned the far-right party "into a significant political player, from a party that was isolated, ostracised and kept on the margins of the political system".
AUR leader George Simion posted on X after the vote that "the voice of the people was heard today", calling for "national reconciliation".
- 'Find solution' -
Tensions with the Social Democrats escalated as Bolojan pushed for unpopular austerity measures to reduce the deficit, the biggest in the European Union.
Social Democrat leader Sorin Grindeanu said after the vote that Bolojan should resign, and it was "the duty of responsible parties to find a solution".
"I want us to form a government quickly," he said.
Pro-EU President Nicusor Dan has given assurances that the eastern European country of 19 million people will keep its pro-Western direction, ruling out the possibility of a far-right government.
"Political discussions will be difficult, but it is my responsibility as president -- and that of the political parties -- to steer Romania in the right direction," he told reporters on Monday.
In parliament ahead of the vote, Bolojan defended his push for reforms, slamming the motion as "deceitful, cynical, and contrived."
"I chose to do what was urgent and necessary for our country," he said.
According to law, after parliament adopts a motion of no confidence, the prime minister and ministers can remain in office until a new government is sworn in, but with limited powers.
- 'Anxiety' -
Bolojan's liberals, the Social Democrats and two other pro-EU parties formed a government last year following elections in which the far right won an unprecedented third of parliamentary seats.
The deal ended political tumult marked by the annulment of presidential elections over allegations of Russian interference in December 2024.
The no-confidence motion against Bolojan now threatens to revive the turmoil.
Ciobanu, a researcher at Aarhus University in Denmark, said weeks of political negotiations were likely, which could see a new government of the same four pro-EU parties but with a different prime minister.
"We're seeing this existential anxiety within the Social Democratic Party" which "doesn't know what it should do right now to get back to where it used to be", Ciobanu added.
Since the crisis erupted, the interest rates at which Romania borrows have risen, and the lei currency has depreciated against the euro, which reached an all-time high of 5.21 Romanian lei on Tuesday.
Romania, which had a deficit of 7.9 percent of GDP in the fourth quarter of last year, has been subject to an EU excessive deficit procedure since 2020.
(L.Thomas--TAG)
