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Parliament votes new Govt. in record time to deal with coronavirus crisis
The Parliament has voted Orban Government II on Saturday after an unprecedented procedure, as social-democrats deputies ( PSD - opposition) votes have been decisive and several Liberal MPs have missed the plenary session after they had been placed in self-isolation after having been in contact with senator Vergil Chitac, who tested positive for Coronavirus on Friday.
Liberal PM Ludovic Orban himself is in isolation at Vila Lac until March 23.However, the first test that Orban did tested negative.
A number of 286 deputies and senators voted 'in favour' of the Orban Cabinet investiture and 23 voted 'against.' A total of 310 MPs attended the investiture meeting and 309 cast a vote.
This was the fastest investment of a Government in Romania in the last 30 years and comes as a response to the coronavirus crisis. Romania now has a Government with full powers to take the necessary measures to contain the Covid-19 epidemic and to limit its negative impact on the local economy.
The irony is that the new Liberal cabinet led by Ludovic Orban, which is the same as the old Government dismissed by no-confidence motion on February 4, was invested with the votes of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which also voted for the motion against it at the beginning of February. Meanwhile, most of the Liberal MPs were not able to attend the vote because they are under isolation at home after one of their colleagues was found infected with the coronavirus.
President Klaus Iohannis signed on Saturday the decree on the appointment of Orban III Government, in the following composition: Prime Minister - Ludovic Orban, Deputy Prime Minister - Raluca Turcan, Finance Minister - Vasile-Florin Citu, Interior Minister - Marcel Ion Vela, Foreign Affairs Minister - Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu, Justice Minister - Marian Catalin Predoiu, National Defence Minister - Ionel Nicolae Ciuca, Economy, Energy and Business Environment Minister - Virgil-Daniel Popescu, Transport, Infrastructure and Communications Minister - Lucian Nicolae Bode, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister - Nechita-Adrian Oros, Environment, Waters and Forests Minister - Costel Alexe, Public Works, Development and Administration Minister - Ion Stefan, European Funds Minister - Ioan Marcel Bolos, Health Minister - Victor Sebastian Costache, Education and Research Minister - Cristina Monica Anisie, Culture Minister - Bogdan Gheorghiu, Youth and Sports Minister - Marian Ionut Stroe, Labour and Social Protection Minister - Victoria Violeta Alexandru.
President Klaus Iohannis announced on Friday that he had appointed Ludovic Orban for the position of prime minister. The head of state signed the decree appointing Ludovic Orban, the National Liberal Party (PNL) chairman, for the Prime Minister office, in order to ask Parliament's vote of confidence regarding the governing programme and the list of ministers of the new Government following the consultations with the parliamentary parties and formations through a teleconference system. It was for the third time when President Klaus Iohannis designates Ludovic Orban for the Prime Minister office.
Florin Citu resigned as Prime Minister-designate prior to the plenary meeting of Parliament, which was supposed to cast a vote of confidence for his Cabinet. Liberal Florin Citu said on Friday that his mandate as prime minister has been to maintain the prospect of early elections and that he would not have accepted the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) votes.
"The PSD has behaved irresponsibly throughout this period. I have asked them for four months not to vote in Parliament for populist laws that blow up the budget. Yesterday they passed such a law. How can one negotiate with these people? These people are toxic and when I said "Romania without PSD", this is how it should be. You have to keep in mind that my mandate was to maintain the early elections. It was a draft that I accepted with all the partners in the Opposition. Some opposition partners with whom we should talk some more, who have changed their minds in the meantime," Citu told Parliament, before the PNL Executive Bureau meeting.
Asked if the option to take over the government was considered, Florin Citu said: "But not with the PSD and ALDE votes".