Romania minister quits as PM faces confidence vote

Romania's transport minister resigned Thursday, piling on the troubles for Prime Minister Victor Ponta a day ahead of a vote of confidence in his government and as he battles corruption allegations.

Transport Minister Ioan Rus stepped down after sparking an uproar with remarks criticising Romanians who head abroad as construction labourers, leaving their families behind. "For a salary of maybe 1,500 euros ($1,600)", he said, "their children become thugs and their wives prostitutes."

Ponta said on his Facebook page that he "regrets the situation created by Ioan Rus's comments" and had accepted the minister's resignation.

The latest headache for Ponta comes as his government faces a vote of confidence Friday organised by the opposition. But as Ponta's leftwing coalition has a large majority in parliament, the government is expected to survive the vote easily.

The left's majority also enabled Ponta to win a parliamentary vote Tuesday allowing him to keep his immunity, protecting him from a probe by anti-corruption prosecutors for suspected graft.

Prosecutors will not be able to continue investigating the premier for conflict of interest. But anti-corruption investigators have said they will press ahead with a probe into money laundering and tax evasion allegations against Ponta, dating to 2007-2011, before he became prime minister in 2012.

Friday's confidence vote is not directly linked to the corruption allegations against Ponta.
The motion, filed on the same day the case against the premier was announced, concerns delays to a law on postal votes for Romanians abroad, who traditionally do not vote for Ponta's social-democratic left.

The prime minister is but the latest target of the powerful DNA anti-corruption agency, which has launched a string of graft probes in recent months that have removed several influential Romanians from their jobs.

The opposition's no confidence motion also claims the government has failed to organize elections to replace political allies brought down by the anti-corruption drive, lending it a political advantage.

Rus's provocative comments about migrant workers, made in an interview televised Wednesday night, caused widespread outrage amongst Romanians and sparked calls for his resignation.

One of the poorest countries in the European Union, Romania has seen some three million of its citizens leave in search of work.

NGOs estimate that around 350,000 Romanian children are growing up with one of their parents abroad, a consequence of the westwards wave of migration that is also badly affecting neighbouring Bulgaria.