Romanian PM Threatened With No-Confidence Vote

Parliament in Romania has summoned Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos to explain why he replaced several local prefects in what is seen as a move by the main parties to increase pressure on him ahead of local elections.

"We want to understand why the government has renounced its assumed neutrality and named people as prefects who are in fact former party members. This is not normal and we do not accept this," Daniel Constantin, co-president of the centre-left ALDE party, said on Monday.

Romania's technocratic government last week axed ten prefects due to "poor results following an evaluation from the Interior Ministry", the cabinet spokeperson said. He also said more replacements were being considered.

The decision was criticised by the former main governing party, the leftist Social Democratic Party, PSD, which remains the largest party in parliament.

"We hope the replacement of the prefects is not linked to the fact that they were named by former [PSD] Prime Minister Victor Ponta. We want a clear explanation," Florin Iordache, a leading PSD member, said on Monday.

PSD leader Liviu Dragnea added that he was also dissapointed by the activity of some new ministers and said he expected a resuffle.

"It would be good if Ciolos replaced a few ministers in order to improve the government's activity," Dragnea said. "Otherwise, we are ready to file a no-confidence vote".

The PSD, together with ALDE and another smaller party, recently signed a cooperation agreement for the local elections due on June 6.

Analysts say the growing pressure on the government comes at a delicate moment, when Romania badly needs a reset in its politics.

"It is sad that the parties are using the same old tricks -...