Romania: government ousted after no-confidence vote
In Romania, the centre-right government of Florin Cîțu (PNL) has been ousted following a no-confidence vote initiated by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and supported by the liberal Union to Save Romania party (USR-Plus), which had been thrown out of the governing coalition, and the right-wing nationalist AUR. Since it is not clear which parties could form a governing majority, commentators fear a long period of uncertainty - in the midst of the fourth wave of the pandemic.
A risky game
According to G4Media, the politicians are cooking up a dangerous brew of their own:
“No one really wants early elections, and if it comes to a second parliamentary vote Prime Minister Cîțu has every chance of passing. If this happens, the whole political crisis will have been for nothing. ... This would mean that with a crippled government in the middle of the pandemic Romania has ensured that a government that was legitimately elected last year becomes a governing coalition between the PNL and the UDMR (supported by the PSD) that nobody elected. If this serious distortion of the political game is fully implemented, the social consequences will be dramatic: it will encourage extremist parties and dangerously increase frustration.”
Government ousted but no plan for what comes next
An interim government would be a real disaster for pandemic control in Romania, says Népszava:
“With previous attempts to overthrow the government the opposition was usually able to provide an alternative. In this case, however, the initiators and supporters of the no-confidence vote were at odds with each other. It is inconceivable that they could bring about any kind of joint government ... So the Cîțu government will probably remain in place for a long time as a transitional government with limited powers. But right now it's hard to imagine a worse calamity for Romania than a lame duck government: Covid figures hit another sad high on Tuesday.”
That's just the way it is in a democracy
Adevărul says the PNL should try to see this crisis as an opportunity:
“In surveys, more than 80 percent of respondents say the country is being led in the wrong direction. And if you look at how the hospitals are burning, you can understand why. In a democracy, the prime minister of a government that loses its majority resigns. ... That's the way things are, and that's a good thing, not a bad thing. The affected party can then look for a solution that means it can enter negotiations with renewed energy to achieve a new majority. And in more delicate situations, when dissatisfaction among the population is high, the departure of a leading politician provides an outlet for frustration.”