BUCHAREST, Romania _ Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose will resign after losing the backing of the ruling party amid a dispute with its powerful head.
The Social Democrats rejected Tudose's request to reshuffle the Cabinet, including replacing Interior Minister Carmen Dan, a close ally of party leader Liviu Dragnea. With the government collapsing for the second time in just over a year, President Klaus Iohannis must decide whether to nominate a new premier from the current the same party, given the political turmoil.
"I'm leaving with my head held high," Tudose said late Monday in televised comments. "My colleagues are satisfied with the government's work but this is life."
Romania has been roiled by political bickering despite its economy growing at one of the fastest rates in the European Union. The relationship between Dragnea and Tudose has deteriorated in the past three months as the two clashed over the governing process and cabinet members. While Dragnea's party won a 2016 election, he can't claim the premier's job himself because of a criminal conviction. The Social Democrats toppled their own Cabinet last June.
The leu is Eastern Europe's best-performing currency this year, with a 0.7 percent gain against the euro as the economy grew by an annual 8.8 percent in the third quarter and the central bank lifted its key rate this month for the first time in a decade.
