Romania’s political crisis nears end as Social Democrats opt to form minority cabinet
The Social Democratic Party (PSD) decided on October 14 to form a minority cabinet headed by independent prime minister-designate Luca Niculescu.
iulian ernst · Journalist
· 5 min read
With 11 of the 17 ministers and the deputy prime minister’s post, the PSD will dominate the cabinet, while most of the other ministers have been or will be informally nominated by president Nicușor Dan, who reportedly accelerated the government formation process the previous day by warning of early elections unless Niculescu secured the necessary votes in Parliament.
The vote on the Niculescu cabinet will be scheduled by the Parliament, after the prime minister-designate submits his request on October 15.
Initially, sources suggested that the vote might take place as soon as Friday, October 16, as political support was already secured. However, Cotidianul.ro and Hotnews, citing sources familiar with the developments, indicated that the vote may take place on October 20.
The cabinet may, however, have a limited lifetime of just six months - a period mentioned in statements from both the Social Democrats and the Liberals.
If approved by Parliament, the Niculescu government may function as a PSD franchise, with the Social Democrats’ governing strategy, ministers and oversight, but with as little political capital as possible invested by the party. Notably, Luca Niculescu held no press conference and made no public comments on his cabinet or governing strategy, which was due to be submitted to Parliament on the morning of October 15.
The announcement of the 11 PSD ministers was instead made by PSD president Sorin Grindeanu, who also announced ten key elements of the governing strategy and the timeline for the government formally headed by Luca Niculescu. The executive’s performance will be evaluated after six months, Grindeanu said at a press conference following the party leadership meeting on October 14.
Prime minister-designate Luca Niculescu could secure 279–300 votes in Parliament (versus 233 needed), according to Mediafax estimates, after the Liberal Party (PNL) decided to vote in favour of his cabinet without joining the governing coalition, in exchange for an agreement to be signed with Niculescu.
Free newsletters
Romania, in your inbox before your first coffee.
Get the Daily — the morning briefing, free, in English, unsubscribe anytime. Want business, real estate or travel digests too? Pick your newsletters →
