Opposition boycotts new Government hearings and planned Parliament vote

Romania's opposition parties the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) will not take part in the Parliament vote for the new Government on Thursday ( February 9 ). The opposition parties were not present during the Commission hearings of the proposed ministers on Wednesday (February 8 ). Romanian media deemed the hearings as mere 'pleasantries' between members of the same party – the Democratic Liberal Party or its governing allies – the Hungarian Alliance and the National Union for Romania's Progress (UNPR). Hearings are scheduled to end on Wednesday at 22:00.

Opposition union USL members have complained about their formal, 15-minute meeting with the President prior to naming a new Prime Minister earlier this week, saying it was shorter than the President's meetings with other parties and that they have not been adequately consulted over the new appointment. The opposition is already laying the blame for any future failure of this new Government entirely at the governing coalition's feet. Meanwhile, several counties in Romania are in chaos due to the heavy snowfall of the last days: roads are closed, the layer of snow exceeds 2-3 meters in some areas, villages are under power outages, people are left without food and medicine supplies. 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