The Ciolacu government was vested with 290 votes. 95 MPs voted against, of which two votes came from the liberals Florin Cîțu and Dan Vîlceanu. They will be most probably ousted from PNL. The minimum number of votes for a Cabinet to be invested is 234.
The new PM Marcel Ciolacu listed a list of promises – from increasing pensions, salaries, bringing Romanians who work abroad to the country, to transforming Romania into a “regional hub on the Black Sea”. He claimed that his executive would be one to take responsibility, because “it is not in PSD’s DNA to run away from responsibility”, and that he would eliminate all special pensions: “I strongly support the elimination of special pensions for MPs. It is the only solution to have legitimacy to then cut all special pensions”.
At the beginning of Marcel Ciolacu’s speech, the MPs from Forța Dreptei, led by Ludovic Orban, distributed three red roses and a PSD membership form to the PNL parliamentarians. “Mr. Orban, when you were prime minister with the PSD you liked roses“, retorted fromer Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă.
“Dear colleagues from PNL and PSD, there will be very big attacks on us in the coming period. No one likes this large majority and consistency. No matter how hard it is in the future, we will be attacked, we will be accused, we will be provoked, so that this alliance will break. I took the vote from my colleagues and I do not regret it, so that we can form an alliance at least until 2024. I believe that we will have a political future together even after 2024 if this government lives up to the expectations of the Romanians,” Ciolacu told PSD and PNL lawmakers.
UDMR has not voted the Ciolacu government, as retaliation they were forced to get out of the ruling coalition.
The newly appointed PM Marcel Ciolacu told UDMR:
“This is Romania’s last train. I understand the criticism, I don’t understand the lies. I’m not a hypocrite, I have many faults.If we do not leave Romania on this trajectory, we will lose everything. You and I know what really threatens Romania – the political class. It would have been easy to tell you everything you did wrong when you were in government. It would have been wrong, I want us to institutionally collaborate with the opposition, to try to find the middle line where we all have an interest. I’m sorry, Mr. Kelemen Hunor, that we didn’t manage 3 statesmen to reach that common ground where we still remain a team in government. I am firmly convinced that in the future we will manage to remain a team in Parliament, for important laws. I am firmly convinced that we will find the balance, this time together with PSD and PNL.”