Parliament convene in a joint plenary sitting this afternoon, to vote on the investiture of the Orban Government. At least 233 votes are needed for the investiture of the new Cabinet, namely a simple majority of parliamentarians.
On the other hand, Premier-designate Ludovic Orban is optimistic about the votes in his favour. The Liberals state that they have the number of votes required for the investiture and are also counting on the backing of some parliamentarians from the PSD and Pro Romania, the only parties that have announced they will not vote for the new government.
Ludovic Orban has said that more than 233 parliamentarians have expressed their willingness to sign the investiture of the government. He added that he will continue the negotiations to make sure he will have a majority even if some MPs will not attend the sitting.
“I’m confident we will have the majority in the plenum on Monday, at the investiture of the government. Today, if all parliamentarians we agreed with and confirmed they will vote for the investiture of the government, we have more than 233 votes. We want to continue to persuade in order to prevent potential absences or desertions that appeared in other cases,” Ludovic Orban said at the end of last week.
He claimed he will negotiate until Monday, including during the vote of investiture.
“We will definitely hold talks until Monday at 2 p.m., and probably during the voting too. We will hold talks with our partners, whom I thank for their support and especially for their exemplary mobilisation. We will continue the talks with all the other parliamentarians who haven’t backed the government so far, within the committees or in their activity, to persuade them that Romania needs a competent and legitimate government,” Orban emphasised.
The new government’s proposed ministers were heard on Tuesday and Wednesday, within the special parliamentary committees. Finance Minister-designate Florin Citu, Development Minister-designate Ion Stefan and Labour Minister-designate Violeta Alexandru were rejected at the confirmation hearings.
Dancila: Gov’t proposed by Orban starts with left foot requesting Parliament vote with 3 rejected
The Government proposed by Klaus Iohannis and Ludovic Orban starts off on the left foot through the fact that it requests the Parliament’s investiture vote for a team with no less than three designated ministers which were rejected at the hearings in the specialty committees, dismissed Prime Minister Viorica Dancila stated on Monday.
“We see how the Government proposed by Mrs. Iohannis and Orban is starting off on the left foot. We are ahead of a premiere, in the negative sense, through the fact that the Parliament’s requested and investiture vote for a team with no less than three designated ministers who were rejected by the specialty committees. Even if the rulebook of joint activities of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate mentions that the motivated endorsement from these committees is consultative, it’s a matter of assumed responsibility regarding the potential of the ministers proposed to manage the portfolio they aspire to. I have full confidence in the select committees and I believe the lack of endorsement for the three ministers proposed for important portfolios – Finance, Labor, Regional Development – should have made Mr. Orban think and come up with other proposals. But no. After they presented an improvised governing program, with no connection to Romanians’ priorities, Klaus Iohannis and the PNL insist to install in Victoria Palace this improvised team. Any political argument brought by these gentlemen to deny the obvious is only another proof of the amateurism with which they intend to govern Romania. We wait for the vote of our colleague MPs with the trust that they will place the country and the Romanians’ fate first,” said Dancila, at the start of the Government meeting.
