It's official: Romania's ruling coalition collapses as PNL leaves Government, asks PM to resign

Romanian National Liberal Party PNL has decided to exit the coalition Government, and wants to join the opposition, at the same time asking the current Prime Minister to resign. This marks the official fracture of the coalition Social Liberal Union USL, made of PNL and the Social Democratic Party PSD. The PNL has decided via internal vote to call it quits, and its members of the Government will submit their resignations by Wednesday, February 26, at noon. State secretaries and chiefs of agencies who are part of PNL will also resign. “The situation in the USL could no longer continue. We felt it was honest not to prolong a festival of hypocrisy,” said PNL leader Crin Antonescu. He apologized to citizens who elected the USL in late 2012, and he did not rule out being part of a new Government formula, but only if the PSD leader Victor Ponta, the current Prime Minister, would resign. Antonescu however said he plans to keep his seat of speaker of the Senate. The official break comes after weeks of tensions inside the USL, with both the PNL and PSD having publicly expressed discontent over naming of ministers, among others. More about the recent tensions, here. editor@romania-insider.com