Political crisis deepens as Romanian lawmakers reject new government

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers late on Monday rejected a new government proposed by Prime Minister-designate Adrian Vestea, who had hoped to bring an end to the country’s protracted political crisis.

The vote in Parliament failed — with 189 votes for and 23 against — and more than half of lawmakers abstained. It needed at least 233 to pass. The outcome caps a monthslong political crisis that started when a no-confidence vote toppled the previous government in May.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said he designated Vestea, a longtime member of the National Liberal Party, or PNL, to try to form a government based on his past administrative experience. Vestea was Dan’s second prime ministerial nomination after his previous pick, Eugen Tomac, failed to present a cabinet within 10 days.

The failed confidence vote against Vestea’s proposed cabinet is expected to deepen a period of instability and turmoil, as the country currently faces one of the largest budget deficits in the European Union.

In a speech to lawmakers on Monday, Vestea said that Romania is going through “a complex period” and that there is a “distrust between the citizen and the state.”

The country faces “serious economic challenges, social tensions accumulated over years, an international context more unstable and risky than we have known for a long time,” he said. “But beyond all this, I believe that our real problem is something else — a crisis of trust.”

Vestea submitted his governing program and list of ministers to Parliament on Sunday.

But Dan did not consult Vestea’s PNL before nominating him. Vestea’s proposed cabinet was backed by Parliament’s largest party, the Social Democratic Party, or PSD. But his own party refused to endorse him.

On Monday, Vestea held talks with the leader of the hard-right nationalist opposition party, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, saying it was necessary to resolve “an unprecedented crisis.”

AUR leader George Simion said after the meeting that his party would not back Vestea’s cabinet and AUR lawmakers left Parliament before casting ballots.

“For 35 years in Romania, betrayal has been the order of the day and has somehow become commonplace, part of everyday life,” Simion said in a speech in Parliament. “Those in this hall who are not traitors are leaving this hall synonymous with betrayal.”

PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu told journalists before voting had ended that his party would not likely support a minority government, and congratulated Vestea on “accepting to enter this battle.”

“There are others who were not even present at the vote … acting like moralists,” Grindeanu said, “but it is not my job to judge them.”

Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, says that the vote mostly favors AUR, by showing “the mainstream parties are unable to govern.” He predicts the political crisis will drag on.

“There is a tough road ahead for finding a majority because the pro-Western parties are in a perpetual conflict,” he told The Associated Press. “Instability and populism win again. Trust in the mainstream politics is the victim again.”

President Dan will now have to nominate another candidate for the premiership. If the next designated prime minister fails to form a government, it could trigger snap elections. A general election is not scheduled until 2028.

Romania has one of the highest budget deficits in the EU and rampant inflation. When the coalition came to power in June 2025, it made reducing the budget deficit a priority.

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McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.