Tariceanu removes PD from Government

Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu (photo) is sending the new government structure formula to Parliament for approval today, proposing 15 ministries at the most. The bill requires significant support from the opposition in order to be passed. If the bill does not secure the opposition’s support, the second Tariceanu cabinet will fail and the Prime Minister’s fate is sealed. According to the Constitution, under such circumstances the head of state must propose a new Prime Minister, who will form a new Government and it is highly unlikely that Traian Basescu would consider Popescu-Tariceanu in a new Cabinet. The PD (The Democratic Party), which was yesterday removed from government as a result of the Prime Minister’s announcement, will not take part in the voting, whereas MPs of the PLD (Liberal Democratic Party) who left the PNL (National Liberal Party) are expected to oppose the bill. The PSD (The Social Democratic Party) will decide on its course of action today, while the PRM (The Greater Romania Party) announced it would vote against the government on the grounds that the UDMR (The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) will also be included in the new structure. The PC (The Conservative Party) has also made a similar announcement. Under the circumstances, the PSD’s support for the new government is vital. The PNL-UDMR government proposed by Calin Popescu-Tariceanu needs 235 votes from Parliament in order to be validated, i.e. the vote of half plus one of the total number of MPs. PNL and UDMR combined have a mere 123 votes, a little more than half the necessary amount.