Former Romanian PM’s party holds talks to form new majority

Pro Romania, a party led by former prime minister Victor Ponta, announced talks with opposition parties next week, to initiate a no-confidence motion after the European Parliament elections on May 26. Its aim is to overthrow the Government and form “a national unity government,” according to the party’s vice-president, Mihai Tudose, also a former PM.

“A working group of the party, formed by former ministers, has worked on a draft government program, because immediately after the European elections, given a new political configuration, we would take steps to change this government,” former PM Mihai Tudose said in a press conference, local Agerpres reported. He stressed that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats (ALDE) no longer hold a legitimate majority.

Tudose estimated that the two parties currently forming the majority would get 20%-30% of the votes in the European elections, which would no longer qualify them to remain in power. He was speaking, however, of moral legitimacy since the European elections would not change the structure of the country’s parliament. Or he assumed more MPs from the two ruling parties would migrate to Pro Romania after their parties’ defeat in the European elections. Pro Romania has managed to draw several important members of PSD to join its ranks in recent months.

Asked whether the ethnic Hungarians’ UDMR would join the government, Tudose said that UDMR expressed no interest in joining a ruling coalition.

(Photo source: Gov.ro)