Romanian prime minister and leader of the National Liberal Party, Ilie Bolojan, stated in a recent interview that he will not resign in the event of a motion of censure filed by coalition partners in the Social Democratic Party. He also ruled out an alliance with the far-right party Alliance for the Union of Romanians, or AUR.
The statements come after prolonged tensions in the governing centrist coalition made up of pro-European parties, namely the Social Democrats (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), the reformist Save Romania Union (or USR), and the minority Hungarian party UDMR.
Conflicts over the budget, fuel measures
Over the past few weeks, PSD and its center-right allies went back and forth regarding social allocations in the 2026 state budget. The prime minister, backed by PNL and USR, stressed public spending cuts that would come to complement the tax hikes of last year and together tackle Romania’s ballooning deficit, which reached 9.3% under the former Social Democratic-led government of Marcel Ciolacu in 2024.
Once the coalition agreed and passed the budget project, they began another row over the forms in which the state can intervene to counter further fuel price hikes caused by the Iran war.
In the end, on Thursday, March 26, the government adopted an emergency ordinance declaring a crisis on the crude oil and petroleum products market, introducing a set of measures aimed at protecting consumers and the economy.
Collusion with the far-right
However, the debates and disagreements over the budget project and the response to the fuel crisis seemingly left a major rift between the Social Democrats and the rest of the coalition parties. The former is set to have an internal consultation on April 20 to decide whether they will remain in government or not.
In the meantime, PSD and PNL have been accusing each other of making deals with AUR. During the debates on the state budget, deputy Alexandru Muraru, president of PNL Iași, said that PSD and AUR “have plotted a conspiracy through which they want to tear Romania’s budget to pieces.” In response, the Social Democrats began talking about a possible understanding between PNL and AUR.
PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu also told Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, that the party led by Ilie Bolojan is getting closer to AUR during a trip to Brussels.
“I reaffirmed that we exclude any variant of political collaboration with AUR and that we are following with concern the increasingly frequent signals of rapprochement between the prime minister’s party and the leaders of the extremist formation led by George Simion. Such a PNL-AUR rapprochement represents a threat to the future of any pro-European coalition and a danger for Romania’s European future!” Grindeanu wrote on Facebook after the meeting.
Meanwhile, AUR leaders stated that the party will not form alliances with PSD or with PNL. “These are pure inventions,” AUR representatives said.
No resignation, PM says
In this context, prime minister Ilie Bolojan said in an interview for G4Media that if PSD generates a political crisis, then the party must be held accountable for it.
He also criticized the Social Democrats for generating additional expenses for the state budget. “When you propose expenses, you must be aware that either you have to collect more from somewhere, or make a reduction in expenses somewhere. Because we can no longer go on lying to ourselves and fooling ourselves,” the official said.
During the same interview, Bolojan said that neither he nor his representatives have negotiated with AUR leaders or with dissatisfied MPs from AUR to establish a would-be alliance.
Furthermore, the prime minister explained that if PSD or AUR files a motion of censure, he will not resign before the vote. The scenario is not impossible, seeing as PSD has voted in recent months alongside AUR both on the simple motion against USR-backed environment minister Diana Buzoianu, and on an amendment to the budget law.
Bolojan said he would not resign especially due to “the situation we are in and the responsibility I undertook when I accepted to be prime minister.” According to him, “the last thing Romania needs is a political crisis.” Instead, he said that he tried to maintain balance in the coalition.
Finally, Ilie Bolojan also announced the “very probable” decrease of the fuel excise duty starting next week, the reform of military pensions in two weeks, and a new law on public sector wages this summer.
The tense situation in the coalition also sparked comments from president Nicusor Dan. On Thursday, March 26, he stated that quarrels between governing parties are “inevitable and legitimate.” However, he ruled out “at this moment” that either PSD or PNL would ally with AUR, according to Digi24.
“When you have parties that represent categories of citizens with aspirations that are not always identical, it is inevitable and legitimate to have this type of confrontation,” Nicușor Dan stated.
Asked whether he will call party leaders for discussions, the head of state replied: “As many times as needed.”
(Photo source: gov.ro)
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