Romanian Liberal leader assures he will pass the PM seat to the Social Democrats in May next year

Romanian prime minister Nicolae Ciucă, who also serves as the president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) assured the Social Democrats that they will be handed over the prime minister seat starting May 2023.

The agreement by which the ruling coalition between PNL and PSD was formed will be observed, Ciuca assured. He stated that the comments of Liberal MP Alexandru Muraru who earlier this month suggested that the PNL would hold the office of prime minister after May 2023 “for stability reasons”, was "just an opinion".

"What I can tell you with confidence is that, at this moment, the rotation in the position of prime minister will occur on May 25, as we decided when this coalition was formed. What surfaced was just an opinion, we are discussing the reality of the facts, the reality of the commitments, and in reality, this is how it will happen," said Nicolae Ciucă, quoted by Digi24.

PNL MP Muraru stated at the beginning of the month that "changing a prime minister a year before the elections, in the context of an open conflict close to Romania's borders, would not convey the right message."

The coalition made of PNL, PSD and UDMR (Ethnic Hungarian's Party) was formed in November 2021 after the fall of the Liberal cabinet led by Florin Citu. The agreement between PNL and PSD was that they would hold the PM seat for half of the government's mandate, which theoretically will end with the parliamentary elections at the end of 2024.

Next year, PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu will likely take over as PM from Nicolae Ciuca if the coalition protocol is respected.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea)