in the Democratic Party also suggested that his political opponents would try to modify the electoral law in order to prohibit a previously suspended president from running in the elections again, following a Rolandas Paksas scenario. On 25 April the Constitutional Court approved the modifications brought by parliament to the Referendum Law. The new article 10 (regarding the presidential impeachment process) considers that the impeachment process "will be approved through the majority of votes for the participants at the referendum, and article 5(2) does not apply to this type of referendum". Therefore, the 19 May referendum remained valid, despite the participation of less than 40% of eligible Romanians. However, since only a 25% minority of voters voted in the affirmative, and a 75% majority in the negative, Băsescu regained full prerogatives on 24 May after the referendum results were confirmed. PDL-PSD coalition government In December 2008, in the aftermath of legislative elections which gave PDL and PSD similar scores, the two joined forces to form a coalition, under a PDL Prime Minister. After one of its ministers was expelled from the government by the prime minister against the will of the party, the PSD decided to leave the government in early October. Soon afterwards, the government fell following the adoption of a motion of no confidence in Parliament. Băsescu nominated Lucian Croitoru as the new prime minister, against the will of the parliamentary majority, which supported Klaus Iohannis. After Croitoru was voted down, Băsescu nominated PDL member Liviu Negoiță as prime minister, again ignoring the proposal of the parliamentary majority. A caretaker government remained in office. The ongoing political crisis prevented Romania from getting two instalments of a 20-billion-euro loan from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. 2009 Presidential campaign Băsescu ran for a second term in the 2009 presidential elections. Incumbent Băsescu and his Social-Democrat opponent Mircea Geoană offered different ways to tackle the economic crisis. Băsescu pledged to cut public spending and promised "more equity" to people living in the countryside. Băsescu tried to portray himself as the champion of the people against what he called the "corrupt political elite". A widely used election poster carried the text: "They cannot avoid what they are afraid of." Băsescu's opponents countered that he is part of that elite, simply with different backers. In a Cluj-Napoca meeting with his supporters he claimed that he "was the one to stop