Romanian lawmakers rejected prime minister-designate Siegfried Mureșan’s proposed minority government on Wednesday, September 30. The cabinet received 182 votes in favour and 15 against, falling 51 votes short of the 233 required for confirmation.
Of Romania’s 464 senators and deputies, 321 attended the joint parliamentary session, but only 197 cast ballots in the secret vote, Agerpres reported.
In his first reaction, Liberal (PNL) MEP Siegfried Mureșan praised the “professionalism, seriousness and expertise” of his colleagues from the three parties supporting the cabinet: the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR).
“Today, in the Romanian Parliament, we came with a solution to end the political crisis, and we saw that the parties that triggered the political crisis voted to prolong it,” Mureșan said, as quoted by Digi24. “We are waiting to see what the next steps will be from the president of Romania.”
In his turn, Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Sorin Grindeanu said Romania urgently needed a fully empowered government capable of changing what he described as the country’s wrong direction.
“We are ready to take responsibility for Romania’s recovery,” he stated in a post on social media.
USR leader Dominic Fritz, meanwhile, called for early elections, arguing that the political crisis created by PSD and the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) was affecting prices, Romanian businesses, and public confidence in the future.
“The time has come to return to the people’s vote,” Fritz said in a message on Facebook.
He argued that the rejection of two proposed governments gave president Nicușor Dan the constitutional means to dissolve Parliament and allow voters to choose the country’s future direction.
Dominic Fritz also praised Siegfried Mureșan and the USR-backed ministerial nominees and said his party would refuse to support a new PSD government “regardless of the packaging in which it is delivered.”
The proposed Siegfried Mureșan government was supported by PNL, USR, and UDMR, which together control approximately 169-170 seats in Parliament and therefore needed votes from other parliamentary groups or independent lawmakers. PSD and AUR had announced before the vote that they would oppose the cabinet.
Following the failed vote, president Nicușor Dan is expected to hold another round of consultations with parliamentary parties and could nominate a fourth candidate for prime minister since the crisis began. The consultations could take place next week, according to sources cited by Euronews Romania.
The rejection also satisfies the constitutional conditions allowing the president to consider dissolving Parliament and calling early elections, as it is the second proposed cabinet rejected by lawmakers after Adrian Veștea’s government failed to win confidence in June.
Dissolution is not automatic, however, and the final decision rests with the president. Dan has repeatedly said that he does not want early elections and does not consider them a solution to the crisis.
Siegfried Mureșan was the third person proposed for prime minister since the government led by Ilie Bolojan was dismissed in a no-confidence vote on May 5. Eugen Tomac, nominated on June 4, withdrew after failing to assemble a majority, while Adrian Veștea sought Parliament’s support on June 22 but did not obtain enough votes.
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