June 15 (SeeNews) - Romania's president Klaus Iohannis will appoint a new prime minister only after the incumbent one resigns or loses a no-confidence vote in parliament, the presidential spokewoman Madalina Dobrovolschi said on Thursday.
Prime minister Sorin Grindeanu refused to step down on Wednesday night after the decision making making body of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) withdrew support for his six-month old coalition cabinet citing poor performance. Junior coalition partners, Liberal-Democrat Alliance (ALDE) also withdrew support for Grindeanu on Wednesday.
"When the prime minister job becomes vacant, either as a result of the resignation of the prime minister or through the adoption of a censure motion in parliament, Romania's president will initiate the constitutional procedures for the appointment of a new candidate," Dobrovolschi said at a news conference broadcast by Digi 24 station.
At the same time, the head of state is calling on the parties in the government coalition to resolve the crisis, which is their responsibility, Dobrovolschi added.
Under Romania's constitution, the president must name a prime minister from the political party which has won majority of seats in parliament in elections. Both the prime minister and his cabinet must be approved by the MPs in a vote of confidence. The MPs can reject a proposed government line-up up to three times before the president decides to dissolve parliament and call new elections.
Prime minister Sorin Grindeanu refused to step down on Wednesday night after the decision making making body of governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) withdrew support for his six-month old coalition cabinet citing poor performance.
"I will not resign. Here's why: The PSD's Executive Comittee does not own Romania. I will resign when president Klaus Iohannis names another prime minister from PSD, following consultations with the parties," Sorin Grindeanu said at a conference broadcast by Digi 24 on Wednesday.
The executive commitee of PSD decided earlier on Wednesday that the government's performance was poor in the six months in office, prompting all ministers to step down. The resignations were submitted to the government's secretariat and now Grindeanu must sign and send them to president Iohannis for approval within 15 days.
A new meeting of the executive committee of PSD will be called on Thursday to discuss a nomination for a new prime minister that will be forwarded to the president, Dragnea added.
Grindeanu's decision to resign only if Iohannis appoints a new prime minister leaves only one legal option available to PSD - to initiate a censure motion against its own government. In Romania's history, this has only happened once, in 1999, when National Peasant Christian Democratic Party (PNCTD) withdrew support for its own prime minister Radu Vasile.
The executive committee of PSD assessed the performance of the government ministers considering their adherence to the governance programme of left-wing PSD, which was at the core of the party's campaign for the regular general election held on December 11.
PSD won 221 of a total of 463 seats in the two houses of parliament in the election. After the vote, PSD joined forces with ALDE to secure a comfortable majority of 250 seats.
Grindeanu was appointed prime minister on December 30.