Brink of collapse

Romanian government on brink of collapse after sacking of justice minister

A party from the three-way coalition drafted a motion of no-confidence against PM Florin Cîțu.

BY MATEI ROSCA

The coalition of center-right parties governing Romania since December 2020 is on the point of unraveling, with one party drafting a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Florin Cîțu on Thursday.

Tensions boiled over on Wednesday after Cîțu, of the National Liberal Party (PNL), tried to force through a controversial local spending program and sacked Justice Minister Stelian Ion, a member of the Union to Save Romania PLUS grouping (USR PLUS), the second-largest coalition member. Cîțu’s move took USR PLUS by surprise, a party insider told POLITICO.

On Wednesday afternoon, Dan Barna, the leader of USR PLUS and a deputy prime minister in the coalition, sought to negotiate transparency measures for the local spending plan, widely seen as an attempt by Cîțu to gain support from powerful provincial politicians in an upcoming PNL internal election. The third party in government, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, was supportive of the PNL’s proposal for the spending plan.

But by nightfall on Wednesday, Cîțu sacked Ion, accusing him of “blackmail” for withholding approval for the spending program. Ion’s dismissal is up for sign-off by President Klaus Iohannis, who “is analyzing it,” his representatives said Thursday morning. Ion, for his part, accused the PNL of interfering in the selection of high-ranking prosecutors, saying in a social media post that he believed his dismissal was linked to his attempts to make the process more transparent as well as his refusal to rubber-stamp the spending plan.

“We do not know what triggered Cîțu’s move,” said a USR PLUS adviser briefed on the leadership’s thinking, “but we believe it was a show of force amid the internal election of the PNL.”

The party called for emergency negotiations to replace Cîțu on Thursday morning, saying in a statement it was drafting a no-confidence motion.

“USR PLUS is withdrawing political support for prime minister Cîțu, who plunged the country into political crisis,” a statement from the party said today, also branding Cîțu “irresponsible”. “USR PLUS has not and will not ever underwrite the plundering of public money.”

“Success, Romania! Today we are winning big time!” Cîțu said in a Facebook post Thursday morning.

Throughout the summer, Cîțu has been engulfed in a bitter struggle with his ex-boss and current party leader Ludovic Orban over the presidency of the PNL, set to be decided this month.

Cîțu came under further pressure in August after press reports revealed he had been arrested for drunk driving while he studied in the U.S. in 2000. He admitted the allegations, saying he had too much to drink at his roommate’s birthday party.

Further statements from party leaders and Cîțu are expected this afternoon. Neither Cîțu nor a PNL spokesperson replied to a request for comment.