The fall of the Boc Government

This results in the current government being out, although it will remain in office until another Cabinet takes over. Likewise, the fact that the government headed by Prime Minister Emil Boc lost the Parliament’s confidence leads to the limiting of the government’s power, as has hereby lost the right to issue emergency ordinances and draft laws. According to Romania’s Constitution, the mandate of the Boc government is interim, of up to 45 days.

President Traian Băsescu must now appoint a new prime minister. “This is one of the most important moments in the 20-year history, and the President has an obligation to be responsible and lucid at this time,” said the Head of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Mircea Geoană.

The President invited representatives of all parties to Cotroceni Palace last evening for discussions regarding the forming of a new government. “Following the no-confidence vote, the government lost the confidence of the parliamentary majority, so Romania now has an interim government. The way the government fell is democratic and in full compliance with the Constitution. I would like to thank Emil Boc for the courage of pushing the reforms ahead,” Băsescu said.

Former Prime Minister Boc said that the motion passed because lawmakers want to retain their privileges. “I said it is an honour for a government to fall for a law such as the pension law. The PNL and PSD majority voted for the motion to ensure they do not lose their privileges. We have lost a battle, but not the war. As of this moment, the responsibility for possible government instability lies with Crin Antonescu and Mircea Geoană,” Boc added.

The pension law was due to eliminate privileges in the system by regulating special pensions, solve the budget deficit problem, and establish mechanisms for preventing early retirement. Boc said previously that at this time 473 lawmakers have service pensions, financed from the state budget, and for each of these the budget is paying out a monthly RON 1,400 (€327).

International economic analysts said that the fall of the Boc government could be a chance for a new, stronger, and more stable government to meet the conditions imposed by the stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund in a better way, as was the case in Hungary. Moreover, analysts said that Romania’s central bank will intervene to prevent a massive depreciation of the leu.