Romanian Govt Faces No-Confidence Vote In Parliament Over Austere Measures

Romanian lawmakers met in plenary meeting Tuesday at 10 a.m. to debate and vote on the opposition’s no-confidence motion, which seeks to overthrow the country’s democrat liberal Government for its austerity plan that cuts wages and pensions.

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Passing the no-confidence motion would require the favorable vote of 236 out of 471 lawmakers. Ruling liberal democrats have 178 senators and deputies, while fellow coalition members, the minority Hungarians, have 31 lawmaker seats. Opposition social democrats, conservatives and liberals hold a total of 212 seats in Parliament. However, only 363 lawmakers are attending the meeting, while the remaining 108 lawmakers are absent.

Thousands of Romanian unionists gathered Tuesday morning outside Parliament headquarters in capital Bucharest and formed a human chain in the nearby park, in a show of support for the opposition's no-confidence motion. Civil servants, postal workers, healthcare workers, education unionists and members of other federations have linked arms to form the human chain. The protesters, who have arrived from all over the country, are chanting anti-Government and anti-presidential slogans, banners in hand. They are handing out flyers, encouraging lawmakers to vote in favor of the no-confidence motion. Protesters continue to arrive at the three protest meeting points in the vicinity of Parliament headquarters.

The Romanian Government has devised an austerity plan made up of two laws, which stipulate a 25% cut of public sector wages and a 15% pension cut. The plan should help the recession-hit country bring its economy on track and convince the International Monetary Fund to disburse further installments of the EUR20 billion rescue package agreed on last year.

Last week, democrat liberal Prime Minister Emil Boc sought the Parliament's confidence vote on the two laws and now faces a no-confidence motion, initiated by the social democrat-conservative alliance and backed by the liberals. The motion was read out during last Wednesday's joint plenary assembly of Parliament. If the Government is not overthrown following Tuesday's vote, its austerity measures are passed into legislation.

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