Romania’s newly appointed Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu will present his list of ministers to the Parliament this afternoon.

The list will first be presented to the National Executive Committees of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Liberal Democratic Alliance (ALDE) the two parties that make the government coalition and hold the majority of seats in the Parliament. After getting the two parties’ approval, Grindeanu will present his intended cabinet to the Parliament and the ministers will be heard by the in the special committees. The Parliament will vote the new Government tomorrow (January 4).

The cabinet led by Sorin Grindeanu will have 23 ministers, including the Prime Minister. PSD will have 19 ministers and ALDE will have 4. Eight of the new ministers will be women, according to PSD leader Liviu Dragnea.

The list of ministers hasn’t been made public, but the local media has got the potential nominees from their sources within PSD and ALDE.

Sevil Shhaideh, PSD’s first Prime Minister proposal, whose nomination was rejected by President Klaus Iohannis without explanation, will lead the Development Ministry, according to sources quoted by News.ro and Adevarul.ro. Shhaideh was also development minister for a few months in 2015, in the Victor Ponta cabinet, where she replaced Liviu Dragnea. The Development Ministry is one of the key positions in the cabinet as it allots the investment funds to the local authorities.

Craiova mayor Lia Olguta Vasilescu is tipped to be the new labor minister, another important portfolio in the PSD-ALDE cabinet. PSD’s governing program includes significant increases for the public employees’ wages, pension increases, and a hike in the minimum wage.

Cristian Socol, a professor at the Bucharest Academy of Studies (ASE) and former PM Victor Ponta’s economic advisor, will likely take over as the new finance minister. He will also have a difficult task ahead as he must find the financial resources to implement PSD’s generous governing program, which includes tax cuts and salary and pension increases.

The Transport Ministry, which coordinates Romania’s infrastructure projects, may be led by Mihai Fifor or Marius Nica. Some sources also indicate Nica as the possible EU funds minister, a position he has held before.

The new cabinet will have a ministry dedicated to small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs. Florin Jianu, the president of the National Council of Private SMEs in Romania – CNIPMMR, will likely take this portfolio.

ALDE will have its co-president Daniel Constantin as environment minister in the Grindeanu cabinet. However, the new Government will also have a ministry for waters and forests led by PSD’s Doina Pana, according to political sources.

The Energy Ministry will also be led by an ALDE member, wither Andrei Gerea or Daniel Chitoiu. Gerea was energy minister and Ghitoiu was finance minister in the USL (PSD+PNL) cabinet led by Victor Ponta.

ALDE’s Sorin Campeanu, who briefly held the interim Prime Minister position after Victor Ponta’s resignation in November 2015, will likely be the new communications minister. Campeanu was education minister in the Ponta cabinet. He was the rector of the Agronomic Studies in Bucharest from February 2012 until December 2016.

However, some of the names on the final list may be different, as PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, who made the list of ministers may want to punish some of his collaborators who he suspects may have proposed themselves for seats in the new cabinet through the media, writes local Adevarul.ro.

Liviu Dragnea, who couldn’t propose himself for Prime Minister due to an ongoing suspended sentence against him, will likely lead the new cabinet indirectly. Dragnea is also the president of the Chamber of Deputies.

editor@romania-insider.com