Romania's acting prime minister Ilie Bolojan is expected to remain in office until at least August after no significant progress was made over the weekend in negotiations to form a new government. As political parties continue to disagree over the shape of the next coalition, discussions have shifted towards interim governing arrangements, while the prospect of early elections is increasingly being raised despite president Nicuşor Dan's reluctance to pursue that option.

Under Romania's Constitution, the president nominates a prime minister-designate following consultations with parliamentary parties, but no deadline is set for doing so. President Dan said last week that he expected the parties to present a parliamentary majority, signalling that he would not actively mediate the negotiations.

Former president Traian Băsescu told Digi24 that the Constitution does not oblige the head of state to call early elections after two failed attempts to form a government, but argued that the option should not be excluded in the event of a prolonged political deadlock. A commentary published by Cuget Liber argued that, despite continued discussions on possible governing coalitions, political parties are increasingly positioning themselves for a new election.

Several coalition scenarios remain under discussion. According to Digi24, one of the options is a temporary "truce" government led by finance minister Alexandru Nazare and supported by the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR).

The idea of a temporary government has also been floated by UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor, who described it as the option facing the "least resistance" in the current political context. Such an arrangement would rebuild the previous governing coalition without the participation of the Save Romania Union (USR).

However, Liberal MEP Siegfried Mureșan, the joint prime ministerial nominee of PNL, USR, and UDMR, rejected the prospect of a PNL-PSD-UDMR cabinet, saying the paths of PNL and PSD had now diverged. He argued that, while an acting government can manage day-to-day affairs, Romania ultimately needs a fully empowered cabinet.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Gov.ro)