BUCHAREST — Romania’s prime minister-designate Adrian Vestea formally requested a parliamentary confidence vote late Sunday, counting on support from the country’s largest party. However, political analysts say his cabinet stands little chance of passing without votes from far-right opposition lawmakers.
Centrist President Nicusor Dan nominated Vestea, a member of the Liberal Party, earlier this week — a move made without consulting the party itself. Observers described it as a bold attempt to restore a pro-European government capable of pursuing economic reforms and reducing Romania’s budget deficit, the largest in the European Union.
The backdrop to this political standoff is the collapse of the previous pro-European coalition government in early May. That administration, led by Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Ilie Bolojan, fell apart when the leftist Social Democrats broke from the coalition and joined with far-right opposition parties in a successful no-confidence vote.
On Sunday, the Liberal Party made clear it would not support Vestea, voting to expel him from the party and threatening to remove any member who backs or joins his proposed government. The Liberals also announced they would no longer govern alongside the Social Democrats.
Despite that, the Social Democrats announced Sunday they would support Vestea’s cabinet, which includes nine Social Democrat ministers and the government’s secretary general. The Social Democrats had previously indicated they were open to rejoining a pro-European coalition — provided the prime minister was someone other than Bolojan.
The Liberals’ refusal to back Vestea was echoed by their former junior coalition partners — the centre-right Save Romania Union and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party — making it extremely difficult for Vestea’s government to win a parliamentary majority without defectors, independents, or far-right support.
The hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians, known as AUR, is currently parliament’s largest party and leads all other parties by a wide margin in public opinion polls.
AUR vice president and senator Petrisor Peiu took to Facebook on Monday to weigh in, saying, “Nicusor Dan and PSD have placed themselves in the difficult situation of proposing a government that cannot pass through parliament.” He added that the best path forward for Romania would be holding an early election, asking pointedly, “Why would AUR self-destruct to save PSD?”
The prolonged political instability puts at risk Romania’s ability to access billions of euros in European Union funds and maintain its sovereign credit rating at investment grade. Romania’s next regularly scheduled parliamentary election is not set to occur until 2028, and the country has never held an early election in its history.
