Romania’s minority government will ask the country’s top court to rule a motion of non-confidence unconstitutional after it was submitted by the opposition when Parliament is in recess.
The Social Democratic Party drew up the motion this week, saying the Liberal government should be dismissed for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic downturn.
The Social Democratic Party read out the motion in Parliament on Thursday during an extraordinary session. It will likely be voted on next month.
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban who was present in Parliament said he disagreed with the timing and content of the motion.
He claimed it had turned into a judicial conflict between the government and the Parliament “without precedent in the last 30 years.”
„It’s a pseudo-motion. In the last 30 years, I’ve never seen such a manipulative motion, a collection of lies and data,” he said referring to economic statistics referred to in the motion such as the average monthly salary.
Orban called it: “porky pies which are contradicted by official statistics.”
But the Social Democrats said that Orban’s reaction was merely a ruse to stay in power.
“Orban is desperate to keep his job and he’s clinging to some judicial ruses to stay a few days longer” in the position before he’s out of a job. “I invite him to test his majority in Parliament,” Social Democrat lawmaker Albert Simonis said.
On paper, the Social Democrats could easily dismiss the government with support from their allies in Parliament, but it is unclear whether they really intend to overthrow the government ahead of local elections at the end of September and parliamentary elections late this year.
Orban said the Constitutional Court should make a ruling “to not allow a violation of the constitution about something as fundamental as a motion of no-confidence.”
Orban said he would officially submit a petition asking for a ruling later Thursday or Friday.
He said until the court made a ruling, he considered the motion unconstitutional.
