Romanian lawmakers vote in favor of pro-EU coalition, aiming to end protracted political crisis

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers voted Monday decisively in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by a center-right prime minister, as the European Union and NATO member nation seeks to end one of its worst political crises in its post-communist history.

Parliament approved the new administration in a 301-9 vote in Romania’s 464-seat legislature, days after Romania's new President Nicusor Dan nominated Ilie Bolojan of the center-right National Liberal Party, or PNL, to lead a new government. Some lawmakers from nationalist opposition parties were absent from the voting.

The coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party, or PSD, the PNL, the reformist Save Romania Union party, and the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party, with the support of national minorities. The ministerial positions will be shared among the parties, which will hold a comfortable majority. The prime ministerial position will be rotated in 2027 from Bolojan to a PSD premier as part of a power-sharing agreement.

Ahead of the confidence vote on Monday, Bolojan, 56, called it a “decisive moment" for Romania's future and said among his top priorities would be reducing the large budget deficit and reforming state institutions.

“Despite the challenges we face … Romania deserves a realistic and fair country project,” he said. “Romania must be stronger and more secure, with an economy that can and must grow … with reformed institutions and respect for citizens.”

With one of the highest budget deficits in the 27-nation EU bloc, the new government will face the challenge of introducing fiscal measures that Bolojan acknowledged could prove unpopular, especially ahead of a 2028 general election amid a growing shift toward populist parties.

After parliament’s approval, the Romanian president held a ceremony to swear in the new government at Cotroceni Palace in the capital, Bucharest.

“Today we begin a new chapter,” President Dan said. “We must rebuild citizens’ trust in the authorities of the Romanian state. It will be a long road, but I’m optimistic that we’ll succeed.”

Bolojan previously served as acting president earlier this year, until Dan decisively beat a hard-right opponent in a heated presidential election rerun. That vote was held months after the previous election was annulled by a top court, which plunged Romania into a deep political crisis and exposed deep societal divisions in the country.

The previous coalition, sworn in last December, collapsed following Marcel Ciolacu’s resignation in May, after the joint candidate failed to make the presidential runoff.

The current broad coalition is viewed as a tactical partnership to shut out right-wing nationalists, whose voices found fertile ground during Romania’s chaotic election cycle, with growing anti-establishment sentiment.

Sorin Grindeanu, the PSD leader, said his party “will be a responsible and honest partner” in the new coalition, which he said is for “the good of this country and for the good of Romanians.”

“I wish (the coalition) to be strong for the next three and a half years,” he said. “We are thus leaving the era of unprofitable interims and entering a period of rational and realistic solutions.”

George Simion, the leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, who lost the presidency to Dan in the runoff, said he didn’t think the coalition would make it through the year.

Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan leaves as Romanian President Nicusor Dan, right, shakes hands with the ministers of the new government after a swearing in ceremony at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian President Nicusor Dan, center right, and Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, center left, pose for a photograph with the new government after a swearing in ceremony at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian Prime Minister designate Ilie Bolojan addresses a joint parliament session ahead of a vote of confidence for the new government team in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian Prime Minister designate Ilie Bolojan addresses a joint parliament session ahead of a vote of confidence for the new government team in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian Prime Minister designate Ilie Bolojan stands during a joint parliament session ahead of a vote of confidence for the new government team in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian Prime Minister designate Ilie Bolojan addresses a joint parliament session ahead of a vote of confidence for the new government team in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian Prime Minister designate Ilie Bolojan arrives for a joint parliament session ahead of a vote of confidence for the new government team in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)