August 27 (SeeNews) - Romania's ruling coalition comprising the Social Democrat Party (PSD) and its junior partner, the Liberal-Democrat Alliance (ALDE), collapsed as ALDE leader Calin Popescu-Tariceanu announced that his party is leaving the alliance.
"I think it is more fair to say goodbye in a civilized manner and to wish PSD and the prime minister to have a mission as easy as possible, but we are planning to become an opposition party, with all that this implies," Tariceanu said in a televised press conference on Monday evening.
Tariceanu said he and his party have been waiting for prime minister Viorica Dancila to come up with "an articulated plan for relaunching the government", but as she failed to do so, they decided to leave the alliance.
As a result, Tariceanu will resign from his position as Senate speaker and three of the four ALDE ministers will leave the cabinet, he added.
Moreover, Tariceanu said he has decided not to run for president but to support an independent candidate instead.
On Saturday, Dancila was endorsed by her party to run in the presidential elections scheduled for November 10.
The ALDE leader also said that his party is planning to support a censure motion that the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) is to file against the government.
PNL party chairman Ludovic Orban said on Monday that his party is considering submitting a censure motion against the government amid the growing conflict between the partners in the ruling coalition.
Orban did not provide a timeframe when the motion would be filed.
Romania is scheduled to hold general elections in late 2020 or early 2021.
The PSD-ALDE government coalition has majority in the 465-seat parliament, holding 208 and 31 seats, respectively. PNL has 93 MPs, USR holds 40 and PMP has 17 MPs. The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) holds 30 seats. Pro Romania has 24 seats. The remaining seats are taken by 17 MPs representing minorities, and by five independent MPs.
In order to pass, the motion needs to be backed by 233 MPs.
The censure motion must be debated in parliament within five days after it is submitted. A vote must be held within three days after that.
The previous no-confidence motion against the government, in June, failed to win the necessary support in parliament to pass.
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