Political Crisis in Bucharest (update)

The Romanian political scene is seeing these days a crisis of unprecedented magnitude in nearly three decades of post-communist democracy

Florentin Căpitănescu, 15.06.2017, 19:45

The Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanus refusal to resign, although pressured by his own Social Democratic Party, the main force in the ruling coalition in Romania, has created a bizarre first on the Romanian political scene after the 1989 anti-communist revolution. On Thursday, the National Executive Council of the Social Democratic Party decided to file a motion of no-confidence against its own Cabinet, formed after winning Decembers parliamentary elections with 45% of the votes.

Moreover, and quite predictably, the Executive Council decided to punish him through exclusion, after the coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania (ALDE) had withdrawn its political support for the premier. The leaders of the coalition, the Social Democrat Liviu Dragnea, who is also the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and the Liberal – Democrat Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu have stated that the decision was necessary, given that the government has not been able to fulfill most of the objectives included in the governing programme.

Prime Minister Grindeanu, however, has rejected the accusation, saying that six months in office are not enough to carry out large-scale reforms. Moreover, Grindeanu, imposed at the helm of the Government by the very head of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea, has stated that the report that assessed his activity, drawn up by somebody from inside the party, is not an objective one, and he didnt even have access to it.

To analysts, removing Grindeanu is the Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragneas express wish, who is unhappy with the fact that the Prime Minister has turned from a docile lieutenant into an independent character, whose autonomy has become disturbing. On the other hand, the Grindeanu Government has failed to impose pieces of criminal legislation that would make Dragneas life easier, as he was given a suspended sentence of two years in prison in one case, and he is also being prosecuted in another case, in which his situation is rather complicated.

Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has called on the ruling coalition to urgently settle the political crisis in order to avoid destabilizing the country. The presidential administration has stated that the parties in the coalition have the obligation to seek a solution. It remains to be seen how the Social Democratic Party is going to solve the crisis and if the opposition, usually rather absent, will take advantage of a unique situation.