Romania’s political crisis is set to deepen as two major parties move to challenge the government in Parliament. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the nationalist party AUR (Alliance for the Union of Romanians), which is currently in opposition, are preparing a joint no-confidence motion against the cabinet led by Liberal (PNL) prime minister Ilie Bolojan, following the Social Democrats’ recent exit from the government.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, former deputy prime minister Marian Neacșu (PSD) and Petrișor Peiu (AUR) said the two parties have begun the “technical steps” required to draft the motion, expected to be debated in May.

“Following several rounds of discussions, it was decided that Petrișor Peiu and I would handle the technical side of a joint no-confidence motion,” Neacșu said, as reported by Digi24. 

Peiu added: “We are making a joint effort to draft a motion so that it can be submitted and debated next month.”

Both representatives noted that the initiative is coordinated to avoid competing efforts.

“There is no pact with PSD,” Peiu said. “We agreed to work on a common text to avoid the risk of submitting two motions that would both fail.”

Meanwhile, Marian Neacșu indicated that broader political scenarios remain possible, saying “every journey begins with a first step” when asked about a potential PSD-AUR government. However, Petrișor Peiu clarified that discussions have so far focused only on the motion, with no negotiations yet on forming a parliamentary majority.

According to Neacșu, PSD still supports the idea of a pro-European coalition with the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), and national minorities, but without Ilie Bolojan as prime minister. PSD withdrew its political support for the Liberal PM earlier this month, and then its ministers also resigned from the government, a move that effectively stripped the executive of its parliamentary majority and increased the likelihood of a confidence vote in the coming weeks.

Peiu reiterated that AUR’s main political objective is to trigger early elections. “If that does not happen, our path until the scheduled elections will be one of opposition,” he said.

In another press conference, AUR leader George Simion said the party aims to submit the motion on May 5, with a vote expected shortly after.

“If everything goes according to plan, we will have a vote on May 5. We are voting to stop the sale of Romanians’ strategic assets,” Simion said, as quoted by Euronews Romania, while also criticizing the government’s economic policies.

He added that AUR could submit the motion even earlier if the required number of signatures, 233, is secured, expressing confidence that support will exceed the minimum threshold. According to current parliamentary arithmetic, PSD and AUR together hold around 219 votes, meaning additional backing would be needed to pass the motion.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: screenshot from AUR's video on Facebook)