Romania government collapses after no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan

Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s government collapsed on Tuesday after lawmakers in Romania passed a no-confidence motion against his pro-European coalition.

The motion was approved after a parliamentary debate, with 281 lawmakers voting in favour and four voting against.

The challenge was launched jointly by the left-wing Social Democratic Party and the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians.

The Social Democratic Party had withdrawn from the ruling coalition in late April, weakening Bolojan’s government and paving the way for the confidence vote.

Lawmakers from Bolojan’s centre-right National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party did not take part in the vote.

The collapse of the coalition has raised concerns about political instability and the possibility of a wider fiscal crisis in Romania at a time of economic pressure across Europe.

Bolojan had led a coalition that supported closer ties with the European Union and backed pro-European policies.

The fall of the government now leaves uncertainty over who will lead the country next and whether early elections could follow.