Romanian govt falls on no-trust vote

BUCHAREST (AFP) - Romanias centre-right government collapsed Tuesday after losing a no-confidence vote, plunging the country further into political turmoil as it seeks to exit a deep recession.It is the first time since the fall of the communist regime at the end of 1989 that a Romanian govt has been toppled in such a manner.
With Romania mired in recession and just over a month to go before presidential elections, a total of 254 parliamentary deputies and senators voted to oust Prime Minister Emil Boc and his Liberal-Democrats and 176 voted against, said parliamentary secretary Valeriu Zgonea.
The no-confidence vote followed the collapse of the ruling coalition on October 1 when the Social Democrats quit in protest at Bocs decision to sack one of their ministers, Dan Nica at the interior ministry.
After the vote, Boc responded that it was an honour for a government to fall for pitching reforms aimed at suppressing privileges.
Under the Romanian constitution, it is now up to the president, Traian Basescu, to name a new prime minister.
I intend to keep this period of crisis as short as possible, Basescu said, hinting he will name a new prime minister soon. He already started consultations with political parties on Tuesday.
Basescu is a close ally of Boc and some observers do not rule out his naming Boc again to form an interim government until the presidential elections on November 22, which are expected to run to a second round on December 6.
During his public address, Basescu praised Boc for his extraordinary efforts to reform Romania.
Basescu is currently the favourite to win the presidential vote.
The crisis will only be resolved once the results of the presidential elections are known, said Ioan Stanomir, professor in political science at Bucharest University.
Even if the three opposition parties were to agree on another prime minister to head a government of experts, Basescu is not obliged to accept their candidate, Stanomir told AFP.
The president has the final say and he could choose another Liberal Democrat as prime minister because thats his constitutional prerogative, he added.
Political analyst Cristian Parvulescu also speculated that Romania would have to wait until December or January before it would have a new stable government.
Romanias economy has been one the hardest hit by the global downturn in eastern Europe.
Any political hiatus could jeopardise crucial economic reforms agreed as part of an international 20-billion-euro (29.5-billion-dollar) bailout led by the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF, the World Bank and the European Union agreed to lend Romania the money in exchange for a package of controversial economic reforms, including an overhaul of its creaking pension system and pledges to cut the bulging public deficit, which is expected to top 7.3 percent of gross domestic product this year.
Boc also wanted to progressively raise the retirement age to 65 by 2030, up from an average of 63 for men and 58 for women.
Prior to the vote, Boc had urged deputies to place the national interest above the interest of the parties you are representing.
If Romania finds itself short of money to pay pensions and public-sector salaries, that will be your responsibility, Boc warned.
The payment of the next instalment of the IMF loan will depend on the conclusions of a Fund mission to Romania after October 21.
IMF has an agreement with Romania and we expect Romania to continue to live up to its commitments, the IMF regional office in Bucharest told AFP.
According to analysts at ING Bank Romania, the governments collapse could increase pressure on the national currency, the leu, and lead to a rise in interest rates.
Bucharest is forecasting a return to economic growth in 2010, when GDP is projected to expand by 0.5 percent. But ING said the recession could be longer and unemployment could soar to 10.5 percent instead of the anticipated 7.5 percent by the end of this year.
The fall of the government will also put a question mark over the adoption of the 2010 budget, which is theoretically expected to be put to parliament this week.