(7 Feb 2017) Romanian Social Democrat lawmakers walked out of parliament on Tuesday during an address by President Klaus Iohannis.
Iohannis told lawmakers the country is in a political crisis, after hundreds of thousands demonstrated against a government measure that would weaken the country's anti-corruption drive.
Liviu Dragnea, chairman of the governing Social Democratic Party, and Calin Popescu Tariceanu, Senate speaker, had refused to greet the president when he arrived.
After the president's speech, Tariceanu told reporters he recommended "dialogue" as "the only possibility" for solving the crisis.
Dragnea, the main power broker behind the government, expressed disappointment Iohannis did not deliver a "speech about unity".
In the address to Parliament, President Klaus Iohannis had said the majority of Romanians now believed the country was going in the wrong direction.
He said Romania needs a government that is transparent, referring to the late hour the government passed an emergency ordinance last week aimed at decriminalising some forms of official corruption.
The move - which bypassed Parliament and was not signed off by Iohannis, who has limited powers - ignited the biggest protests seen since communism ended in the country in 1989.
As a result, the government will now seek to introduce the plan in Parliament.
Despite the crisis, Iohannis said Romania did not need early elections, a view the government shares.
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