In late 1911, the PCD began talks for an alliance with the National Liberals, directed at the second Carp government, and opposed by King Carol (as it threatened to draw support for constitutional changes). Repeatedly calling on Carp to include PCD ministers in his executive, Ionescu sided with Brătianu in May 1911, during the scandal erupting over Bucharest's tram system (when the Conservatives uncovered that the former Mayor of Bucharest, Vintilă Brătianu, had contracted some of his fellow Liberals to complete the work in question). The matter escalated when Carp faced Parliament with a proposal for legislative changes, and publicly questioned Ion I. C. Brătianu's morality. The conflict prolonged itself over the following months, and ended with the fall of the Carp government and its replacement with a transitional one, headed by Maiorescu.