Bucharest (AFP) - Romania's pro-European liberals on Monday succeeded in getting parliamentary approval to form the next government, ending months of political uncertainty and paving the way for the new prime minister to appoint an EU commissioner.
The EU
member's previous left-wing government -- besieged by protests over
controversial judicial reforms and a perceived failure to fight corruption --
collapsed in a no-confidence vote last month.
President
Klaus Iohannis then tasked Ludovic Orban, chief of the National Liberal Party
(PNL), to form a new government, but his proposed minority line-up needed
parliamentary approval.
A total of
240 lawmakers of the 465-member parliament -- just enough for the simple
majority needed -- voted in favour of Orban's government.
"Our
objective is to re-establish the confidence in Romania of our Euro-Atlantic
partners," the former transport minister, 56, told lawmakers from his PNL
and four small parties whose support he secured before the vote.
Orban is
expected to appoint a new EU commissioner after nominees from the previous
Social Democrat (PSD)-led government were rejected, leaving the new European
Commission unable to start work.
"We
will make a decision as soon as possible, after consulting the president and
after a hearing in the parliament," Orban said after the vote.
He blamed
PSD leader Viorica Dancila for the rejection of the first candidates in
Brussels.
Incoming
European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen -- who wants her new team to be
up and running by December 1 -- has urged Romania to propose a new EU
commissioner "without delay".
Presidential race
The crucial
parliamentary vote also comes just ahead of a first round of presidential
elections on Sunday with incumbent Iohannis, a former PNL leader himself, the
clear front-runner.
The 17
cabinet members -- all from the PNL except for the defence and foreign
ministers who have no party affiliation -- will be sworn in later on Monday.
Among its
priorities, the government -- seen as a transitional one until the next
parliamentary elections in late 2020 -- aims to keep the annual budget deficit
under three percent of output, the EU limit, and to reverse the judicial
reforms introduced by the PSD.
Dancila,
whose government collapsed in the October 10 no-confidence vote, is also
running in the weekend's presidential elections, but her chances are seen as
slim.
The PSD
boycotted Monday's vote. Afterwards, Dancila accused Iohannis of "confiscating
the executive power".
"The
aim of this government is to give Iohannis a second (presidential) term, and
this is an insult to democracy," Dancila said.
Since
taking power in late 2016, the PSD government faced massive protests and
criticism from Brussels over reforms seen as helping politicians to escape
corruption sentences.
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