Siegfried Mureșan formally nominated for PM, has 10 days to seek Parliament confidence vote

Romanian president Nicușor Dan signed the decree formally designating Liberal MEP Siegfried Mureșan as a candidate for prime minister on Monday, September 21. The decree was published in the Official Gazette the same day, triggering a 10-day deadline for Mureșan to request Parliament’s confidence in his governing programme and proposed cabinet.

“I am treating this responsibility with the utmost seriousness and with a clear objective: forming a competent and stable government capable of moving Romania forward,” Mureșan said on Facebook.

“We will correct the injustices accumulated in society and be an unequivocally pro-European government.”

In separate statements, Siegfried Mureșan said he expects to present the main elements of his governing programme on Tuesday before beginning talks with parliamentary parties, according to Digi24. He intends to submit the complete programme and list of ministers to Parliament by the end of the week.

In a later post on Facebook, he announced that one of this main goals is to reduce VAT back to 19% as soon as the country could afford it. “Romania’s economy is on a more solid footing, and we do not need further increases in taxes or VAT,” he wrote, arguing that the government should continue reducing waste and controlling state spending before considering an easing of fiscal measures.

The prime minister-designate also told RFI Romania that he would proceed to an investiture vote even if he failed to secure commitments from a parliamentary majority beforehand, Agerpres reported.

“Obviously, I will go to the vote,” Mureșan said, citing his constitutional responsibility and his intention to present the proposed reform agenda publicly.

“People will have the opportunity to see whether PSD (the Social Democratic Party) supports a pro-European government or whether it is in opposition together with AUR,” he added.

Siegfried Mureșan also stated that the planned executive would be a minority government formed by the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) - the three parties that backed his nomination for PM. Most ministers would come from these parties, although he did not exclude appointing some technocrats.