President Iohannis to consult with political parties on new government on Friday, supports early elections

President Klaus Iohannis invited the parties represented in the Parliament to consultations at the Cotroceni Palace on Friday, on the subject of forming a new government following the fall of the PSD government through a motion of no confidence, suggesting that he supports the idea of early Parliamentary elections.

“I convened a first round of consultations with parliamentary parties tomorrow. We urgently need a new government, with a very clear mandate, to ensure responsible and effective governance until the next parliamentary elections, regardless of when they will take place. The priority is now to find the best solution to ensure that Romanians will be least affected by the effects of this post-motion period,” Iohannis said, in a press briefing.

Consultations are scheduled to begin on Friday at 11:00 AM.

The president was visibly happy that the motion of no confidence passed.

“[Problem] solved! Today Romania won. The fall of the PSD government is the natural result of the whole society facing the abuses of this government,” Iohannis said.

However, forming a new government seems a difficult task as the opposition is very fragmented and the parties have different agendas.

Some parties, like USR and PNL, support the idea of early elections, while others – like Pro Romania or UDMR – seem to reject such a plan.

A no-confidence motion tabled by Romanian opposition parties against the government led by PM Viorica Dancila of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) has passed in the parliament with 238 votes, above the required 233-vote majority.

The vote on the motion, titled “In order to rebuild Romania, the Dancila government must be urgently dismissed!” came a few days before the official start of the campaign for the presidential election in November. In 2020, the country will also hold local and general elections.