BUCHAREST – Romania’s political landscape faces dramatic upheaval as the nation’s dominant parliamentary party, the Social Democrats, announced Monday they will join forces with the hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians to remove the current pro-European government from power.
This unexpected partnership threatens to jeopardize Romania’s access to crucial European Union funding after Social Democratic ministers withdrew from Liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s coalition government last week, stripping it of its parliamentary majority.
Despite losing support, reform-focused Bolojan has declined to step down, insisting his administration must complete essential reforms to secure more than 10 billion euros in pandemic recovery funding before the EU’s August cutoff date.
The current coalition formed ten months ago following December 2024 elections, with the primary goal of preventing far-right parties from gaining significant influence in Romanian politics.
However, tensions have mounted between Bolojan and the Social Democrats over proposed budget reductions designed to cut Romania’s deficit from more than 9% of economic output in 2024 – the highest in the EU – down to 6.2% this year.
While Social Democrats have indicated willingness to rejoin a pro-European alliance, they demand Bolojan’s removal as a condition. His Liberal party continues to support him, accusing the Social Democrats of violating cooperation agreements established ten months earlier and refusing to consider future partnerships with them.
Creating a pro-European parliamentary majority appears impossible without Social Democratic participation. The party had previously rejected any collaboration with the Alliance for Uniting Romanians, parliament’s second-largest faction, which currently leads opinion polls with approximately 35% public support.
Together, these two parties hold about 220 seats in the 464-member parliament. To successfully remove the government, they need 233 votes, which they could potentially achieve with support from smaller far-right groups. Meanwhile, Bolojan is working to strengthen his own backing.
Romania has never conducted early elections and isn’t scheduled to hold general elections again until 2028.
When questioned Monday about the possibility of governing alongside the Alliance for Uniting Romanians, former deputy prime minister Marian Neacsu of the Social Democrats remained cautious, stating only: “Every journey begins with the first step.”
Alliance for Uniting Romanians leader George Simion announced that the motion to dismiss Bolojan’s cabinet would be submitted once 233 lawmakers provide their signatures, with a potential vote scheduled for May 5. Simion indicated his party remains open to discussions with all political groups following the government’s removal.
