The Romanian Senate adopted a simple motion initiated against environment minister Diana Buzoianu on Monday, December 15. The motion passed after the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the largest party in the governing coalition, joined the far-right opposition party AUR in the initiative. 

The vote for the simple motion was carried after a no-confidence motion filed against the entire government failed to gather the necessary votes. Shortly before the Senate session, PSD representatives stated that the party’s representatives in Parliament would vote against the no-confidence motion but would support the simple motion. Unlike the former, the simple motion does not automatically lead to the dismissal of the minister. 

Diana Buzoianu, a member of the reformist center-right Save Romania Union (USR) party, has been in hot water for around two weeks due to the Prahova water crisis, which left over 100,000 people without access to drinking water. The minister refused to resign and argued that the crisis is the result of systemic corruption, fostered for over 30 years.

In this case, she pointed to one of the institutions she considers responsible for the Prahova water crisis, Exploatare Sistem Zonal Prahova. The company has political backing and is unnecessary, she said, backing her statements with interinstitutional documents showing that the local company failed to disclose or foresee problems regarding access to water.

Nevertheless, the crisis has been used by USR’s critics to demand Buzoianu’s resignation. In the simple motion, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) noted that the minister "no longer has the legitimacy to remain in office" and that "if she does not have the decency of an honorable resignation, prime minister Ilie Bolojan must take note of the vote of the parliamentarians and dismiss her urgently."

During the debate over the motion, representatives of the three parties went back and forth. “You do not have the quality, the skill, the training, nor even, I would say, the mental maturity to lead a ministry,” AUR senator Mircea Chelaru said to Buzoianu, who is 31. 

AUR’s statements were echoed by the Social Democratic Party, which also directed criticism at the Liberal (PNL) prime minister Ilie Bolojan. One PSD senator, Robert Cazanciuc, said he will submit an amendment requiring the prime minister to revoke from office a minister against whom a simple motion has been adopted and who refuses to resign. Another PSD senator, Daniel Zamfir, called the minister insolent, impertinent, and hysterical.

The simple motion was adopted with 74 votes to 43. Commenting on the result, PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu said that the vote is meant to sanction the USR minister’s “catastrophic management” of the Environment Ministry. 

“We announced in advance that we would not vote for the motion of censure. I don’t think it surprised anyone. Likewise, we also announced this in advance. Through today’s moment, in fact, we marked the catastrophic management that madam minister Buzoianu has at the Ministry of the Environment, and through this, we sanctioned it,” Sorin Grindeanu explained for Digi24.

He added that just because PSD is part of the coalition does not mean it should not penalize the poor management of the Ministry of the Environment. 

On the other side, USR leader Dominic Fritz pointed to “evident coordination” between PSD and AUR.

“Diana Buzoianu is fighting precisely the problems that caused this crisis, namely the extreme politicization of all environmental deconcentrated institutions and not only. And this is one of the reasons why Diana Buzoianu is fighting for reforms in this field. Why exactly in the week when she proposes the reform of Romsilva, those who do not want these reforms to be carried out are precisely those who for years have created this system of nepotism in these deconcentrated institutions, namely PSD,” added the USR president for Digi24.

At the same time, the USR leader noted that the vote is meant to distract from the issue of the independence of magistrates, as highlighted by the Recorder documentary ‘Captured Justice,' which triggered major street protests in Romania. 

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / George Călin)