More scenarios emerged during the informal negotiations with the pro-Western parties in Romania last week, and the country will have a new government within “a reasonable period of time,” president Nicusor Dan announced on May 9 after he carried out talks with the parties of the former ruling coalition during the previous days. The new government will have among its first tasks to draft the 2027 budget plan by the end of September, president Dan said, according to Digi24.
President Dan also assured that “there is an agreement” supposedly among the parties of the former ruling coalition about passing in Parliament the legislation needed for the country’s successful absorption of the Resilience Facility (RRF) money, advancing along the OECD candidacy, concluding the defence endowment contracts under the EU-backed SAFE scheme, and executing the 2026 budget in line with the target agreed with the European Commission.
Over the week that followed the successful no-confidence motion against the government of prime minister Ilie Bolojan (Liberal Party, PNL), the Social Democrats (PSD) – who pulled out from the ruling coalition to join the opposition in topping prime minister Bolojan – hinted they are ready to form a ruling coalition, but not a minority coalition and not with the opposition party AUR.
PSD has not openly proposed its leader, Sorin Grindeanu, as prime minister, along with its strategy of passing the role to a Liberal representative other than Ilie Bolojan. This scenario was initially rejected by PNL, but it may return to the party’s agenda as leaders of the regional party organisations are reportedly pressing the central leadership towards accepting the Social Democrats’ offer.
President Dan is understood to back such a solution and passively support it through prolonged consultations aimed at allowing dissident factions at a lower level in the Liberal Party to erode the consensus obtained by Ilie Bolojan for no further deals with PSD.
Separately, Save Romania Union (USR) decided to go with the Liberal party in opposition, and the two parties have decided to coordinate their actions in Parliament.
Finally, the fourth “pro-Western” party mentioned by president Dan, the Hungarian UDMR, would be ready to remain in the ruling coalition, particularly if the Social Democrats manage to implement their plan of renewing their cooperation with the Liberal party without Ilie Bolojan.
“We have concluded a first set of meetings with the leaders of the pro-Western parties, representatives of the minorities. We have seen the constraints that each of the parties has, and with which they come to the negotiations that are starting. So there are some scenarios that we will focus on further, and the discussions will continue on these scenarios. I reaffirm, Romania will have a pro-Western government within a reasonable period of time. There is agreement on the major policies. OECD, SAFE, PNRR. There is agreement on Romania’s fiscal trajectory, as assumed. And in this sense, the incoming government will have as its objective to define and propose the 2027 budget to parliament by autumn,” Nicușor Dan said on May 9, in his message on the occasion of Europe Day.
According to Digi24 sources, Nicușor Dan had discussions with the presidents of PSD, USR, UDMR, and PNL, Ilie Bolojan being the last one he met with.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Presidency.ro)
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