Romanian Parliament Passes No-Confidence Vote Against Government

The Romanian Parliament has passed a motion of no confidence in the government and its Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Balkan Insight, 241 members of parliament voted in favor of the motion, with only 10 voting against. The motion needed at least 233 votes to pass.

Grindeanu’s government came into force in December, and enjoyed the backing of the parliament majority, which comprised of Grindeanu’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE). However, the prime minister lost support of the population after the Justice Ministry approved amendments to criminal code that would have reduced penalties for some corruption offenses.

The amendments led to massive anti-government rallies in Chisinau, forcing the government to repeal the amendments. In response to the public's uproar, Justice Minister Florin Iordache announced his resignation in February.

Earlier in June, the PSD assessed the government’s performance in the first six months of its mandate as unsatisfactory, calling on the cabinet to resign. Over 20 of the country’s ministers have since left office, and Grindeanu, who refused to step down until President Klaus Iohannis appointed a new head of government from the ranks on the PSD, was expelled from the party.