Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan is set to face a no-confidence motion on Tuesday, May 5. If the motion signed by 251 members of Parliament is successful, he would be the seventh prime minister after the 1989 anti-communist Revolution to be dismissed through this governmental procedure.
Bolojan is the 72nd prime minister in Romania’s history, and has governed Romania for 10 months, or around 320 days. The no-confidence motion was submitted jointly by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the nationalist party AUR (Alliance for the Union of Romanians), after the former left the centrist government coalition.
The longest-lasting government in Romania’s post-December history was the cabinet of Nicolae Văcăroiu, which governed Romania for 1,484 days between 1992 and 1996, followed by the Social Democratic government of Adrian Năstase, at 1,464 days, and the Liberal government of Călin Popescu Tăriceanu, around 1,454 days, according to News.ro.
The first government in post-1989 Romania to be removed from power by a no-confidence motion was led by Emil Boc and backed by the defunct Democratic-Liberal Party (or PDL), later absorbed by the National Liberal Party (PNL). Sworn in in December 2008, the first Boc government was dismissed by Parliament in October 2009, after 295 days in office. The no-confidence motion was initiated by PNL and UDMR and passed with 254 votes for and 176 against, with the support of PSD, which had just left the government. Boc then remained a central figure in PDL and later returned to lead another government.
The second government to be removed through a no-confidence motion was the one led by Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu. Established in February 2012, the government was removed later that April, after 78 days in office, the shortest mandate in Romania’s post-communist history. The motion removed 235 votes in favor, above the 231 needed.
In January 2017, Sorin Grindeanu became the prime minister of Romania, backed by a dominant Social Democratic Party. He was removed from office by his own party after 167 days, following a spat with the then-party leader, Liviu Dragnea. Now the leader of PSD, Grindeanu is a major supporter of the motion against Ilie Bolojan.
Another PSD government, this time led by Viorica Dăncilă, was sworn in in January 2018 and dismissed in October 2019, after approximately 645 days in office. The motion passed with 238 votes in favor, with 233 required. The dismissal was supported by a broad opposition coalition, including PNL, the Save Romania Union Party (or USR), PMP, the Hungarian minority party UDMR, and the PSD breakaway Pro Romania, along with unaffiliated parliamentarians and parts of the minorities.
Also a “victim” of a no-confidence motion, the first government led by Liberal leader Ludovic Orban was established in November 2019 and dismissed in February 2020, after just 94 days. The motion passed with 261 votes for and 139 against, after the executive had assumed responsibility for the project related to the election of mayors in two rounds. This is the only post-1989 government dismissed through a motion submitted as a direct reaction to the taking of responsibility.
Finally, the Liberal government led by Florin Cîțu governed Romania between December 2020 and October 2021, lasting 286 days. The motion gathered 281 votes for and 0 against, the highest favorable score ever obtained by a motion of censure against a Romanian government. Cîțu’s mandate was dominated by the pandemic, and the center-right coalition backing his seat fell through after the prime minister dismissed justice minister Stelian Ion, who was backed by the Save Romania Union Party.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Codrin Unici)
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