Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă announces resignation ahead of planned govt. reshuffle

Romania's prime minister Nicolae Ciucă announced his resignation from office in a press statement on Monday, June 12. His resignation is the first step towards the Government reshuffle which will see coalition partners, the Social Democrats (PSD), take over the position of prime minister. PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu is expected to be designated as the prime minister.

The so-called Government rotation will see the Liberals (PNL) exchange the position of PM with the Social Democrats, amid a larger government reshuffle. In his resignation statement, Ciucă noted that the rotation should have taken place on May 25, but that the teachers' strike delayed it.

"Through good collaboration, we managed to agree on a form of legislation so that the demands of teachers could be met and restore confidence in the teachers, educators, and instructors in the Romanian education system. We need measures that are sustainable and not populist. Therefore, considering that this conflict has been resolved and as we have assumed and I have assumed, today is the moment when I conclude my term as the prime minister of Romania," Ciucă said, cited by G4Media.

The new Government is set to take office in a few days. "The coalition will begin the procedures for the reshuffle. We will immediately have an interim Government until the new Government is invested. We have set a goal to have the new Government invested by Thursday," he said.

"There are also things we have not managed to accomplish. It is important that when we took on the task of governing, we also assumed the responsibility of resolving a political crisis. Here we are today, after one year and seven months, having a series of measures that have ensured the stability of the country," the former PM added.

Consultations for the formation of the new cabinet are expected to take place at Cotroceni palace tomorrow. After negotiations, president Klaus Iohannis will nominate a candidate for the position of prime minister. Most likely, he will designate the leader of PSD, Marcel Ciolacu, to form the Government.

(Photo source: Nicolae Ciuca on FB)