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Romanian government survives no-confidence vote
Jun 15, 2010, 22:27 GMT
Bucharest - The Romanian government on Tuesday survived a no-confidence poll in parliament that fell short by just five votes, thereby also clearing a major hurdle for its package of drastic austerity measures.
The no-confidence measure was supported by 231 members of parliament and senators. It needed 236 votes to pass.
Prime Minister Emil Boc had linked the savings package with the confidence vote. The austerity measures can now only be stopped by the constitutional court in Bucharest.
They call for civil servants' wages to be cut by 25 per cent and pensions and welfare benefits to be decreased by 15 per cent.
Boc and his government have faced widespread protests over the cuts, which are designed to limit the budget deficit to 6.8 per cent - in line with demands by the International Monetary Fund, which has given the country a multi-billion-dollar loan.
Around 3,000 people gathered outside the parliament Tuesday to demonstrate against the measures.
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