Friday, October 02, 2009

Romania: PM names interim cabinet after coalition collapse

FOCUS Information Agency - Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc (photo) announced late Thursday the cabinet's interim structure following the social democrats' pullout from the governing coalition, Xinhua News Agency informed.

Boc decided to take over the Education Ministry for the moment and Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu, independent, will be interim head of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Other democrat liberal ministers will be caretaker ministers of the portfolios left vacant by the social democrats.

According to the democrat liberal prime minister, the interim period will last at most 45 days.
"In the next period, that is for the 45 days of the caretaker government's rule, the prime minister will have to seek formulas to secure a parliamentary majority so that he may go before the parliament with a new government," President Traian Basescu said.

All social democrat ministers in the coalition government resigned Thursday after Basescu signed the decree on removing social democrat Dan Nica from the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister.

The governing coalition formed in December 2008 between Boc's Democratic Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party ran into crisis since Monday, when Boc announced the plan to fire Nica and asked the Social Democrats to nominate a replacement within 24 hours.

Boc said he decided to fire Nica because of his inability to ensure security and his remarks on alleged frauds in the upcoming presidential elections.

Refusing to appoint a replacement, the Social Democrat leadership on Monday evening decided by vote to continue their support for Nica.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
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