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Romanian Parliament Approves New Government in Tight Vote

Romanian Parliament Approves New Government in Tight Vote

(Bloomberg) -- Romania approved the country’s sixth government in five years, ending weeks of political uncertainty following the ouster of the previous administration.

The cabinet of Prime Minister Ludovic Orban was backed by 240 lawmakers on Monday in Bucharest, just beyond the 233 it needed. But the result doesn’t exclude the possibility the Black Sea nation will call its first-ever snap elections early next year.

Romanian Parliament Approves New Government in Tight Vote

Romania, a European Union member of 20 million people, has been repeatedly roiled by political upheaval since the fall of communism three decades ago. Investors have grown used to the volatility, with the leu only weakening 0.1% against the euro in the past month.

Orban was picked by President Klaus Iohannis, a political ally, to lead the government until general elections in late 2020 or maybe earlier. He pledges to repair what he calls damage to the economy, the judiciary and EU relations by three years of Social Democrat rule.

“We need to start a new road, rebuilding society and putting Romania back on the European track,” Orban said before the vote. “We want to lay the foundation for stable and long-term economic development.”

The closeness of Monday’s vote, however, indicates the new government could struggle to pass legislation. What’s more, three of Orban’s ministerial candidates, including proposed finance chief Florin Citu, lost advisory votes in parliament last week.

And the political drama isn’t over. Romania faces the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, with Iohannis set to prevail having repelled efforts by the Social Democrats to roll back anti-corruption measures.

The turmoil in Bucharest also impacted the set-up of the new European Commission with Orban vowing to propose a new commissioner as soon as possible after three proposals made by former Premier Viorica Dancila weren’t approved.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andra Timu in Bucharest at atimu@bloomberg.net;Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Andrew Langley

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