Romania's Pro-European Government Collapses After Vote
Romania's pro-European government fell on Tuesday after a confidence vote. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan lost the vote by a large margin.
281 lawmakers voted against him and only four supported him. The Social Democrats were the largest party in his coalition.
They left the coalition in late April and joined the far-right opposition. Together they pushed the vote to remove Bolojan.
Bolojan called the move cynical and false. Romania has the highest budget deficit in the European Union.
His government had been cutting spending to fix that problem. Romania's currency fell to a record low against the euro ahead of the vote.
Financial markets raised concerns about the country's finances. The coalition had been in power for less than a year. Far-right parties are growing in Romanian polls.
Key Terms 5
- confidence vote A vote where lawmakers decide if the government can stay in power
- Social Democrats Romania's largest political party, which left Bolojan's coalition
- austerity measures Government spending cuts made to reduce a budget deficit
- budget deficit When a government spends more money than it receives
- far right Political groups with very strong nationalist and conservative views