Romanian Social Democrats overwhelmingly vote to withdraw support for Liberal PM
Representatives of the Romanian Social Democratic Party from across the country voted on Monday, April 20, during an internal consultation to withdraw political support for prime minister Ilie Bolojan. No fewer than 97.7% of the 5,000 PSD representatives voted against the Liberal head of the executive.
The vote took place online, through a special app. In response to the result, party leader Sorin Grindeanu stated that the party leadership will take into account the mandate it received and will act accordingly in the coming days.
“The mandate we received from you is as clear as it can be. When 97.7% of colleagues tell you that this is the mandate, that Ilie Bolojan must go home, there is no room for anything else. I, Claudiu, the vice presidents, and the entire party leadership have understood this,” said Grindeanu after the vote.
The result of the vote was largely known beforehand. All PSD leaders expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the prime minister, whom they blame for a decrease in Romanians’ purchasing power, among others.
PSD leaders delivered speeches condemning Bolojan at the main gathering at the Parliament building in Bucharest before the vote. Around 200 members were present, including Claudiu Manda, Lia Olguța Vasilescu, Gabriela Firea, and Sorin Grindeanu.
“For 10 months, we have seen a continuous war against PSD and left-wing people. A war carried out from within the governing coalition, whose only effect has been precisely the growth of the extremist camp. Right-wing propaganda has tried to turn PSD into the perfect alibi for all the economic and social crimes of this period. These are 10 months in which every PSD member has become a live target,” said Sorin Grindeanu.
Grindeanu also mentioned that PSD has “diluted its left-wing identity” by backing a prime minister who favors cutting public expenses. A popular regional leader before taking on the premiership, Bolojan used his political capital to pass a series of tax hikes, including VAT and local taxes, to tackle a 8.65% deficit in 2024 reached during the mandate of PSD prime minister Marcel Ciolacu.
The decision is potentially a death blow to a fragile centrist, pro-European coalition that appeared after the 2025 presidential elections and the surprise rise of pro-Russian politician Calin Georgescu. The coalition, made up of the Social Democrats, the National Liberal Party (PNL), the reformist center-right Save Romania Union Party (or USR), and the minority Hungarian party UDMR, has been in power for over 10 months.
Ilie Bolojan has repeatedly announced that he will not resign from the position of prime minister, regardless of the result of the PSD vote. In response, PSD representatives said that the party may withdraw its ministers from the government and force the fall of the government.
A few hundred people gathered before the government headquarters in Bucharest to support prime minister Ilie Bolojan.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos|Codrin Unici)
