Brussels, 08/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Romania's centre-left government headed by newly-designated Prime Minister Victor Ponta won a large majority on Monday evening 7 May during a parliamentary vote of trust.
The new government, formed of the Social Liberal Union coalition of Social Democrats (PSD) and Liberals (PNL centre-right), received the support of 284 members of parliament, with 92 voting against.
A former prosecutor aged 39 and a declared admirer of the Argentinean-Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, Victor Ponta was appointed as prime minister by President Traian Basescu after the fall of the centre-right government at the end of April. “We are determined to abide by Romania's commitments towards its partners and we have drawn up a new letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund aimed at giving a message of stability”, Ponta said, adding: “But our major commitment is towards the Romanian people”. He explained that it was necessary to repair social injustice caused by the austerity measures adopted in 2010. His team obtained the IMF's go-ahead for returning the salaries of public servants to their former level, after they had been reduced by 25%, while increasing the public deficit forecast for 2012 by 0.35%, to 2.25% of GDP. The portfolio for the Ministry of Finance has been entrusted to the vice-governor of the central bank, Social Democrat Florin Georgescu, who had already held the post between 1992 and 1996.
The Ministry for European Affairs has remained in the hands of an independent member, Leonard Orban, the only member of the former government who has had his post renewed. Social Democrat Senator Titus Corlatean, appointed to the head of the justice system, will have the difficult task of convincing the EU that the fight against high level corruption will be continued without political interference. Foreign affairs will be under the wing of the former minister for education, Andrei Marga, albeit without experience in foreign affairs. In recent months he has launched virulent attacks against President Basescu, with whom he will have to share this crucial area.
The president of the S&D Group at the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda, commented: “With even more Socialist-led governments active in the EU institutions in Brussels now, we will be in a stronger position to correct the harsh austerity measures promoted by conservative governments in Europe. Together, we must launch the European process and fight for an alternative and fair way out of the crisis.” (LC/transl.jl)