Romania’s PM-designate sketches technocratic government but seeks political backing

Despite proposing the six-month truce, Luca Niculescu has publicly said he wants the government to remain in office for two years, until the 2028 elections, Digi24 reported.

Niculescu has reportedly sketched a technocratic cabinet but still hopes to secure the involvement of political parties. The Social Democrats (PSD), however, have so far refused to support such a government, according to party leader Sorin Grindeanu, who spoke at a press conference on October 12.

The two main parties capable of assembling a parliamentary majority with their partners, the PSD and the Liberals (PNL), remain at odds. The PSD abandoned the governing coalition in April after breaking with the common governing strategy, but is now seeking to restore the arrangement.

The Social Democrats insist on bringing the PNL, or at least part of it, back into government - but on their ruling strategy.

Efforts to peel away a significant faction of the Liberal Party have become increasingly visible. PNL MEP Rareș Bogdan said that around 25–28 Liberal MPs were ready to support Niculescu’s government despite the party’s official position. Bogdan also said he would be willing to join Niculescu’s team, while PNL MP Alina Gorghiu has been mentioned as a possible justice minister.

These manoeuvres seem to echo a recurring PSD strategy, reportedly pursued with the support of president Nicușor Dan, aimed at weakening the reformist faction within the PNL in favour of the more opportunistic and collaborative faction that controlled the party before the 2024 elections.

At a meeting on October 12, the PSD decided to condition its participation in the government on Niculescu accepting its proposed governing strategy and the Liberals joining the coalition. Grindeanu reiterated that his party would prefer to hold the prime minister’s office itself, while also saying that the PSD was ready for early elections.

The Liberals remain open to initially voting to invest Niculescu’s government.

PNL Senate leader Mircea Abrudean said the party would decide whether to support the cabinet once it had received the government programme and list of ministers.

“We are waiting for the government programme and the cabinet list to make a decision within the statutory forums of the PNL. At this moment, we express our openness to giving a vote of support, of investiture, for the Luca Niculescu government,” he said.