BUCHAREST: The Romanian government of liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu was brought down by a no-confidence vote on Tuesday, threatening to plunge the country into fresh political instability.

The result of the vote showed 281 MPs voting in favour of the no-confidence motion, with none against as the government and its allies boycotted the poll.

The crisis comes as Romania, one of the poorest countries in the European Union, battles a deadly fourth wave of coronavirus and as Romanians risk huge bills over the coming winter due to spiralling energy costs.

Former banker Citu, 49, has been prime minister only since December after the previous parliamentary election, but has already been abandoned by its centre-right coalition partner and heavily criticised by the left.

The centre-right USR party last month withdrew from his liberal coalition, complaining about Citu’s “dictatorial attitude”.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2021