Half empty Parliament adopts new Government in Romania with opposition absent

Romania's somewhat deserted Parliament approved the new Government in its vote on Thursday ( February 9 ), when the MPs of the opposition parties were absent. 237 of the 239 MPs present voted for and only two against the new Government. Several opposition party members were however present in the Parliament at the time of the vote.

Victor Ponta, head of opposition party Social Democratic Party (PSD) gave a conciliatory speech in the Parliament, asking the new PM Ungureanu to be a Prime Minister for the people, and not for the country's president Traian Basescu. His speech triggered discontent among members of the National Liberal Party, a partner in the opposition union USL. Getting a result was a close call, as only 239 MPs were present in the Parliament, just above the necessary 232 for the vote to be valid. The Hungarian Alliance and other minorities in the Parliament proved pivotal, as without them the governing party would not have achieved the minimum number of votes needed for the result to count. The designated prime Minister Razvan Ungureanu announced the list of 16 ministers on Wednesday morning. The average age of the ministers in the proposed Government is 46 years, making it the youngest Government in Romania so far. Democratic Liberal Party ministers

Bogdan Drăgoi, Finance Minister Lucian Bode Economy Minister Gabriel Berca, Interior Minister Alexandru Nazare, Transport Minister Cristian Petrescu, Regional Development Minister Claudia Boghicevici, Labor Minister Cătălin Baba, Education Minister Răzvan Mustea, Communication Minister Stelian Fuia, Agriculture Minister

Hungarian Alliance Ministers

Marko Bela- Vice Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor – Culture Minister Lazlo Borbely- Environment Minister Ritli Ladislau – Health Minister

Independent ministers

Leonard Orban – European Affairs Minister Catalin Predoiu – Justice Minister

UNPR ministers

Cristian Diaconescu – Foreign Affairs Minister Gabriel Oprea – Defense Minister

High stakes for key ministries in Romania this year Opposition boycotts new Government hearings and planned Parliament vote