BUCHAREST – Romania’s parliament on Monday rejected a bid by center-right politician Adrian Vestea to form a government, plunging the country into renewed political uncertainty.
Vestea, a regional leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) appointed by President Nicușor Dan on June 14, secured just 189 votes, well short of the 233 required to become prime minister.
The defeat came after the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the second largest group in parliament, retained its support. Vestea had personally sought support from the AUR before the vote, but party leader George Simion instructed his MPs to leave the chamber once proceedings began, ensuring the nomination would fail.
“I considered it necessary to respond to this challenge. I regret that it did not materialize,” Vestea said after the vote, adding that the decision to approach the AUR had been his and not President Dan’s.
The failed vote also exposed deep divisions within the PNL. The party did not participate in Monday’s vote, and interim prime minister and PNL leader Ilie Bolojan reportedly proposed expelling Vestea and his allies for accepting the nomination without the party’s approval.
The President of Romania appoints the new Prime Minister to form the government
Romanian President Nicusor Dan chose a new prime minister on Sunday to form a government after…
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President Dan has ruled out allowing the AUR to form a government. If a second candidate is also rejected by parliament, he would have the option of calling a general election.
The unrest comes after prosecutors formally charged Ciprian Ciucu, a close ally of Bolojan and the mayor of Bucharest, with corruption last week. Ciucu denied the accusations and suggested that they were politically motivated.
Over the weekend, Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party, congratulated Boloja on his re-election as PNL leader.
Sebastian Burduja, a PNL lawmaker and former energy minister, said the party favored “transparent negotiations between the pro-European and democratic majority in Parliament” and warned that a government built through “behind-the-scenes negotiations with anti-EU political factions” would weaken Romania and the wider European project.
(cz)
