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| TOWARDS A NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE 02/06/2010 |
| (2010-06-02) |
| Last updated: 2010-06-03 14:23 EET |
The IMF Board convenes at the end of this month, and the laws drawn up by the government, concerning the reduction of public sector salaries by 25% and of pensions by 15%, should take effect by this date. The measures are designed to keep the budget deficit below 7% of the GDP, a figure imposed by the IMF in order to carry on the agreement with Romania. As they are running out of time, the Romanian authorities chose to ask for a vote of confidence in Parliament on these austerity measures. The procedure is quick, but risky, in that it enables the Opposition to table a motion of censure immediately after that. The Social Democrats have announced that the text is ready, and the Liberals say they will back it.
In fact, the Social Democratic Party and National Liberal Party view the resignation of Emil Boc’s cabinet as a first measure to fight the crisis. In Parliament, the coalition government made up of the Democratic Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania still enjoy, at least in theory, the support of a majority that includes, among others, independent MPs who have defected from the two opposition parties, and the group representing the ethnic minorities. The independent MPs, who have recently set up a left-of-centre group as an alternative to the Social Democratic Party, have made their support for the incumbent government conditional on the idea that pension and salary reductions must only be valid until the end of this year.
During the two decisive votes, the Parliament building will be picketed by unionists seeking to pressure the politicians into rejecting the austerity plan. So chances are tensions will be high. The first cracks in the parliamentary majority that backs the government have emerged on Tuesday, during the vote on the simple motion in which the Liberals in opposition accused finance minister Sebastian Vladescu of incompetence in managing the crisis. The motion was dismissed, but several members from both the ruling Liberal Democratic party and the minorities and independent groups did vote in favour. During the debates, the National Liberal Party presented a number of solutions to encourage investments, increase budget revenues and rethink the role of government intervention, yet minister Vladescu labeled them as unrealistic. He said the harmful practice of making promises that are not substantiated by economic facts must come to an end.
On the other hand, even if they pass the test of the censure motion, the austerity measures put forth by the government would also be subject to a Constitutional Court verdict. The Liberal and the Social Democratic parties in opposition support the “Pro Democratia” Association, which has notified the High Court on the lawfulness of the government’s resorting to an article in the Constitution to reduce salaries and pensions in the public sector. The article allows for a limitation of citizen rights in case of natural disasters. Some jurists say pensioners are entitled to take the administrative measures that reduce their incomes to court, including international courts, because the Council of Europe defines pension as a fundamental individual right.
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