Romania’s PM-designate Luca Niculescu plans to submit government team and strategy this week

Niculescu has already met representatives of the Social Democrats (PSD), Liberals (PNL) and Hungarian party UDMR last week.

PSD argued for reviving the coalition it left in April before bringing down the government in May, while the Liberals rejected the unexpected invitation. Niculescu nevertheless described the talks as constructive.

“Yesterday [October 8] we held discussions with parties. The discussions were constructive, substantial and will continue in the coming days. Another round of discussions is scheduled for Monday [October 12] and, obviously, we will most likely draw conclusions on Thursday [October 15], when I intend to submit the government programme and the list of ministers,” Niculescu said in a Digi24 interview on Friday, October 9, as reported by Agerpres.

The first major decision of the week is expected on Monday, when PSD’s National Permanent Bureau is scheduled to meet at 10:30 at the party’s headquarters to assess the results of last week’s discussions with Niculescu and decide whether to support a technocratic government.

The party led by Sorin Grindeanu insists on a parliamentary majority that would also include PNL and UDMR, but wants the government to pursue an economic programme based on PSD’s priorities. The Social Democrats are calling for a “change in economic direction”, an end to what they describe as “unnecessary austerity”, and measures to stimulate economic growth, while maintaining that Romania’s fiscal commitments must be respected.

The Liberals, by contrast, favour continuing reforms in public administration and state-owned enterprises, in line with the governing strategy agreed by four centrist parties, including PSD, in June 2025. PNL continues to back Siegfried Mureșan, the prime-ministerial candidate of the PNL-USR-UDMR grouping who failed to secure the necessary parliamentary support.

PNL has ruled out returning to the previous coalition, but has indicated that it could initially vote to invest a minority government formed around the Social Democrats.