Romania's new government led by ex-general Nicolae Ciuca took the oath of office on Thursday soon after winning a vote of confidence in Parliament with overwhelming support. The official installment of the three-party coalition government put an end to a long political instability in the country after the minority cabinet led by Florin Citu collapsed in a parliamentary no-confidence vote on Oct. 5. "The political crisis is over, but the other crises aren't, nor have the problems disappeared," said President Klaus Iohannis after the members of the new government were sworn in at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. "The pandemic is not over, the energy crisis is not over ... this year's budget will have to be amended, the budget for next year will have to be prepared and voted on, people are waiting for the payment of salaries and pensions on time and many other things need to be solved urgently," said the president. The coalition cabinet was validated with 318 votes in favor and 126 against earlier in the day in a joint plenary session of the 465-seat bicameral legislature, much more than the required half-plus-one of the total MPs. The result was not surprising, as the coalition -- comprised of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) -- holds 65 percent of seats in Parliament and also gets the support of 18 MPs representing the country's minorities. "We pledged ... to do everything possible to overcome all these problems that we have been facing because of the COVID crisis, and to determine the lines of effort needed for Romania's development," the new prime minister said after the investiture of his cabinet. "We are Romania's government, as we pledged to keep the Romanian citizen at the centre of our attention," said Ciuca, a 54-year-old retired general and former defense minister. Ciuca will lead a new cabinet composed of two deputy prime ministers and 20 ministers. — Agencies
