After he appointed first a second-tier politician to form a government of technocrats, then a third-tier politician to take over one of the country’s oldest political parties – both candidates designed as interfaces for a Social Democrat government – Romanian President Nicusor Dan gave in on June 23 and delegated to the parliamentary parties the mission of identifying a parliamentary majority to support the short–term key national priorities.

At the outset of the political crisis some 45 days ago, President Dan announced that such a consensus on the key national priorities existed – and President Dan mentioned it as grounds for the new political construction – but further developments seriously challenged this statement.

"Today, I held consultations with the parliamentary parties and groups to identify a solution to unblock the political crisis we are in. The option that seems to be emerging is that of a minority political government, based on a previously agreed parliamentary support agreement. I therefore invite the parliamentary parties to start discussions to sign this parliamentary agreement and, subsequently, to submit to me proposals for the minority government formula, supported in accordance with this agreement,” President Dan said, cited by G4Media.

By implicitly abandoning his mediation role and expecting the rival Liberal and Social Democrat parties to engage in direct negotiations for the signing of a protocol, President Dan is prolonging if not jeopardising, the odds for a successful settlement along this strategy first sketched by Liberal (PNL) leader Ilie Bolojan.

This parliamentary majority, understood to consist of the four centrist parties that formed the ruling coalition before May 5, would mandate a minority government to implement a subsequent set of priority actions aimed at securing full absorption of RRF/PNRR money, implement the SAFE mechanism, advance the country’s OECD candidacy, and sketch the 2027 budget plan in line with the Excessive Deficit Procedure commitments.

The Parliament, on June 22, rejected the nomination of Prime Minister-designate Adrian Vestea, effectively triggering the counting of the 60 days after which President Nicusor Dan is entitled to dissolve the Parliament. The timer can be stopped only by the nomination of a prime minister. Failing to have a prime minister nomination within the 60 days does not compel the President to dissolve the Parliament, but exposes him to a suspension vote in Parliament and possibly to a dismissal public referendum. 

“The entire process [of signing the agreement and designating a minority government] must proceed at an accelerated pace, because the urgency of installing a functional and stable government is major." President Dan said after consulting the parliamentary parties on June 22.

The version agreed by the president is the one proposed by Ilie Bolojan. At the end of the PNL Permanent Bureau meeting, MP Ionel Bogdan spoke about the two solutions for a new government.

The PNL continues to support two options for forming a minority government, one of the PNL-USR-UDMR and another of the PSD, and hopes that, by next week, President Nicușor Dan will choose one of them, announced PNL deputy Ionel Bogdan on June 23, after the meeting of the party's National Permanent Bureau.

The PNL continues to support two options for forming a minority government, one of the PNL-USR-UDMR and another of the PSD, and hopes that, by next week, President Nicușor Dan will choose one of them, announced PNL deputy Ionel Bogdan, cited by Agerpres after the meeting of the party's National Permanent Bureau.

He showed that the president of the PNL, Ilie Bolojan, proposed a political agreement for Romania that would be, with the approval of the head of state, signed by the political parties and would contain the main issues that the government would have to resolve in the coming period.

Ionel Bogdan also said that there are two working options, mentioning that, regarding the option of a PNL-USR-UDMR government, the party president, Ilie Bolojan, is to consult with the partners from USR and UDMR to find a prime minister option that would be agreed upon by the three parties.

'The second option is the one in which the majority will support a PSD government. Romania needs a government; Romania must appoint a government. That is why we have put two options on the table, not just one, for reaching a majority that would support the Government [with a clear mandate] while not ensuring a permanent majority. We [the Liberals] do not want to join the PSD again [as ruling partners], so such an option is not up for discussion,' the PNL deputy said.

According to him, the PNL will vote for a PSD minority government if the Social Democrats assume the points from the political agreement for Romania that the PNL proposes. “The points are to be discussed with all political partners so that a variant emerges that can be agreed upon by everyone. (...) We want a political agreement as soon as possible,” Ionel Bogdan also said. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: presidency.ro)