27.04.2012
By Simon Miller
The Romanian government has become the latest to fall as a result of austerity measures.
The centre-right party fell after it lost a vote of no confidence in the Romanian parliament two months after taking office.
The result raises the prospect of months of political turmoil and casts doubts on an austerity programme.
The government was attempting to cut salaries and raised sales taxes to bring its economy onto a surer footing but the vote surpassed the minimum of 231 votes with 235 MPs voting to bring down Mihai Razvan Ungureanu's government.
President Traian Basescu must name a replacement who wil have to get parliament's backing - a process that could take months due to the fragmented state of the legislature - and the uncertainty could affect investor confidence in the country's International Monetary Fund-led resuce package.
Monday saw Netherlands prime minister Mark Rutte resign after the collapse of talks over that country's austerity budget and with a vote of no confidence in the Czech Republic later today, the political backlash over austerity looks set to continue.
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