Will right-wing extremists topple Romania's president?
The nationalist AUR party is seeking to gather votes in the Romanian parliament to remove President Klaus Iohannis from office. A third of all votes is necessary for a vote of no confidence - and if there is a majority for that vote, the decision is put to the people. That would be the first time ever, but never-ending government crises and formerly popular Iohannis' conduct in the catastrophic Covid situation have lowered his approval ratings to just 14 percent.
Clever timing
The right-wing extremists' venture certainly is shrewd, the Romanian Service of Deutsche Welle concludes:
“Politically speaking, it is a very good point in time for AUR to intensify the crisis. And why should the nationalists' cynicism be more cynical than that of the president? For two months, Klaus Iohannis has been making this country wait with an oxygen mask on its face, knowing full well that more than 15,000 Romanians have died [of or with Covid-19] during this time. His cool and indifferent patience is hard to bear in view of the dead, and the fact that he goes golfing and visits the pyramids during one of the country's most difficult moments is incomprehensible. ... Only the Liberals [his former party] are following him blindly on this course, which could hit the wall.”
The other parties won't go along with this
In spite of the people's anger, there will not be a parliamentary majority in favour of removing Iohannis, predicts journalist Florin Negruțiu on republica.ro:
“Iohannis is 'lucky' that the initiative is coming from AUR. No party will want to initiate a crusade against Iohannis under this party's flag. The [opposition parties] PSD and USR are playing the card of responsibility in these times of crisis. PNL and UDMR are the governing parties. ... Under these circumstances, the party [AUR] will not find a majority for suspension. ... If the politicians were to leave the decision up to the people, Iohannis would be the first president to be removed from office.”