Competing no confidence motions filed against Romanian cabinet

[September 28, 2021]  BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that a no confidence vote against Liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu filed by a former coalition partner can go forward, while the opposition leftists filed their own competing motion.

With two no confidence motions in play, it was unclear whether the two opposition parties in parliament and the centrist USR Plus, which quit the coalition, would back a single vote to topple the government.

The votes of USR Plus, the ultra-nationalist opposition AUR that backed its motion, and the opposition Social Democrats (PSD) that are pushing their own challenge would be needed to remove Citu - but they are far from natural allies.
 

Lawmakers were due to discuss the timetables for the motions later in the day. None of the parties have yet said whether they will back the rival motions.

USR Plus ministers resigned the cabinet in early September after Citu fired their justice minister in a row over a regional development fund and said the coalition could only continue with a different prime minister. The Liberals backed Citu, a relative newcomer but backed by centrist President Klaus Iohannis.

The dissolution of the coalition, which also involved the ethnic Hungarian group UDMR, threatens Romania's economic recovery and efforts to reduce its large budget and current account deficits.
 

 Romanian Prime Minister-designate Florin Citu attends a news conference in Bucharest, Romania, February 26, 2020. Inquam Photos/George Calin via REUTERS/File Photo

It also comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are rising sharply again amid one of the lowest vaccination rates in the European Union.

The Liberals managed to delay the USR Plus motion by challenging it in court on technical grounds but on Tuesday the court said it should be put to parliament.

PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu said his party aimed to trigger early elections. However, snap elections – which would require that parliament rejected two successive proposed cabinets within 60 days – are unlikely and have never happened in Romania.

The Romanian leu was flat against the euro on the day but down 1.7% overall this year, the region's worst performer.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Alison Williams)

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