Romanian government survives no-confidence vote

The coalition government led by the Democratic-Liberal Party (DLP) in Romania on March 16 survived a vote of no confidence related to the new labor law that the government had just introduced.

In this vote, MPs rejected the opposition's motion against the new labor law. This is the fifth vote of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Emil Boc in less than a year.

Prime Minister Emil Boc speaks during an interview after the vote. Source: Reuters

The victory has paved the way for the Romanian Government to continue promoting reform programs to receive the remaining money in the bailout package that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB) have given to the country to cope with the economic downturn.

The new labor law was introduced by the government to create jobs, increase competitiveness and attract foreign investment.

Romania is the second poorest country in the EU and was heavily affected by the recent global financial crisis. To avoid the risk of bankruptcy, Prime Minister Boc's government was forced to tighten spending and carry out reforms to receive assistance from international financial institutions.

However, the "austerity" policy has caused the DLP's reputation to plummet, with the voter support rate now at only 16%, down by half compared to the 2008 election, and at risk of failure in the general election scheduled for 2012.

According to VNA