Romania's power struggle pits ruling party against its own premier

A turbulent year for Romanian politics has taken another startling turn, with the ruling party asking parliament on Sunday to oust its own government.

The Social Democrats (PSD) withdrew support for a cabinet led by party member Sorin Grindeanu, after he refused to back down in a power struggle with party leader Liviu Dragnea.

Mr Dragnea is barred from serving as prime minister due to a conviction for vote rigging, but he was expected to pull the government’s strings and dominate Mr Grindeanu after he took office in January.

His first weeks in power were rocked by Romania’s biggest street protests since a 1989 anti-communist revolution, as the government sought to weaken anti-corruption law and potentially lift the ban on Mr Dragnea holding high office.

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The reforms were scrapped after hundreds of thousands of people rallied in opposition across Romania. The failure soured relations between Mr Grindeanu and Mr Dragnea, and they have deteriorated further with each sign of the premier's growing independence.

At party meetings last week, senior members of the PSD and its coalition partner the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) denounced the performance of Mr Grindeanu’s government and urged him to resign.

"Out of 390 measures in the governing programme, some 260 have not yet been implemented. We're not talking here only about quantity but of the quality of the governing," said ALDE leader Calin Tariceanu.

Country’s future

After a gathering of PSD chiefs, Mr Dragnea said: “We could have swept the government’s under-performance under the carpet and moved on . . . But we can’t do that because our governing programme is at risk. The country’s future is at risk.”

Mr Grindeanu refused to step down until President Klaus Iohannis, a rival of the PSD, nominated a replacement from the party. The head of state said he would only name a new premier once Mr Grindeanu resigned or was ousted, however.

“I didn’t want to reach this point, which is very difficult for the party and for Romania, and it’s hard for me to understand the sudden wish for change. The only answer I could find is the wish of a certain man to have all the power,” Mr Grindeanu said.

“If the government didn’t perform, I’m not the only one responsible, so I challenge Mr Dragnea to resign. Once he does that, I will do the same immediately.”

While most ministers have obeyed the orders of their party leaders to resign, a few prominent current or former PSD figures have backed Mr Grindeanu, and accused Mr Dragnea of trying to exert total control over the party.

The PSD and ALDE filed the no-confidence motion on Sunday, with a vote expected on Wednesday.

“This way we are defusing the situation, this premier clings to power using various tricks despite having lost our political support. This is a circus,” Mr Tariceanu said.

Mr Dragnea said Romania was “facing the unprecedented situation of a ghost government,” but insisted that deputies would vote to dismiss Mr Grindeanu and to form a new coalition cabinet.