Ponta Government voted by Parliament

Ponta Cabinet obtained the Parliament’s vote of investiture with 284 votes in favour and 92 against.

The Parliament vote is supposed to be published in the Official Gazette, then the President Traian Basescu has to invite the new ministers at Cotroceni for the swearing-in ceremony.

During the morning, the ministers proposed by Victor Ponta were heard by the specialised committees and were all vetted..

Subsequently, the plenary parliament has met to vote for investiture.

In early discussions, the Liberal Democratic Party (PDL) parliamentarians have announced that they will vote against the investiture of Victor Ponta government.

PDL leader Emil Boc said that the Democrat-Liberals do not want to give them a vote to a cabinet that proposes many ministers at a time when additional costs are not justified.

He also said that some proposed ministers have incompatibility problems or are the subject to some criminal investigations.

In turn, President of UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, said that his group would not support the government proposed by Victor Ponta.

The contracts with “the smart guys” will be renegotiated

In a speech in parliament, the Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that if the parliament give the new government the vote of confidence, it will start a fundamental change for Romania’s fate.

Victor Ponta also said that parliament will subject to the vote and it will respect it whatever will be its result, adding that the proposed ministers within his cabinet have accomplished several criteria, including professional experience, integrity and honesty in public office, has broadcasted the Radio Romania actualitati reporter Alina Stan.

The Prime Minister-designate said that one of the short-term objectives of the government is renegotiating contracts with the so-called "smart guys".

He pledged to advocate the further development of relations with R. of Moldova.

Victor Ponta also announced that within 30 days, all ministries and public institutions will have to do an internal audit that establishes whether the law was complied with or not.

Speaking at the opening debate in parliament, the Senator Vasile Blaga has accused the designated Prime Minister of using political transits that he "adopted" before.

The discussions have continued with the speeches of all parliamentary groups.

PDL representatives have said, essentially, that the program proposed by Victor Ponta is either superficial, made in a hurry, incomplete, with many contradictions, or copied from the former Prime Minister.

USL representatives have spoken about the difficult legacy, about change and responsibilities.

The national minorities and UNPR have differently motivated their political support for the new government.

The UDMR president’s intervention, Hunor Kelemen, has caused contradictory discussions, who said that the lack of a chapter on minorities in the government program is a step back and a return to the black period of denying the minorities existence , as he called it.

They replied, in turn, the liberals Tariceanu and Antonescu and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Senator Catherine Andronescu.

Gyorgy Frunda, UDMR, has exposed his point of view regarding the establishing of Hungarian line within the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Targu-Mures, has broadcasted the editor of Radio Romania Actualitati, Septimius Roman.

Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea

MTTLC, Bucharest University