Roemeense regering valt vóór presidentsverkiezingen (en)
EUOBSERVER / BUCHAREST - A centre-right minority government is temporarily taking office in Romania until the presidential elections on 22 November, after the Social Democratic Party left the governing coalition on Thursday in protest over the sacking of one of their ministers.
"This is pure politics. [President Traian] Basescu wants to secure his vote, and [Socialist leader Mircea] Geoana wants to have a better chance in the elections," says Alin Tranca, a 38-year old taxi driver in Bucharest.
"Nobody is really interested in us regular people."
The Social-Democrats quit the governing coalition on after their vice-premier and minister of the interior was sacked over allegations of preparations being made to rig the presidential elections.
"We asked for official information from the ministry of the interior and unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, these allegations could not be confirmed," Prime Minister Emil Boc said on Tuesday when announcing that he was sacking Mr Nica and giving a deadline of 24 hours for the Social Democrats to appoint a new minister.
The Social Democrats protested over the move and claimed this was a proof that the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) was planning to rig the elections in favour of the incumbent president Traian Basescu. They quit the coalition on Thursday after a day of unsuccessful negotiations.
PDL ministers have taken over the portfolios from the departing Socialists. The interim government has 45 days to present themselves before parliament. If the government fails to gather enough votes twice in a row, early parliamentary elections could take place.
Businesses signalled concern over the political infighting and reminded of the need to respect the international commitments made to the International Monetary Fund and the EU for the €20 billion loan Romania has contracted.
"If we don't have a stable government, based on a parliamentary majority, it will be very hard to take economic measures to stop the current crisis," said Ioan Cezar Coraci, head of the UGIR employers' association.
Impact on EU commissioner
The new government configuration could also have an impact on the nomination of Romania's next EU commissioner.
President Traian Basescu and premier Emil Boc had been pushing for the agriculture portfolio to be awarded former minister Dacian Ciolos. The two leaders are negotiating directly with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The Socialists were also promoting their own names for the commission job, which prompted PDL politicians to accuse them of undermining the negotiations.
Should it be decided that the agriculture portfolio is for the moment too big for Romania, as the country has had some issues with the management of EU funds and is still being monitored in the fields of justice and the fight against corruption, the PDL could also put forward the name of Monica Macovei, a former justice minister and current MEP.