President Nicușor Dan has nominated presidential adviser Eugen Tomac for the prime minister seat.
Tomac is a member of the European Parliament and the president of the People’s Movement Party (Partidul Mișcarea Populară), which is not represented in Romania’s Parliament.
The nomination comes a month after the collapse of the government headed by prime minister Ilie Bolojan, the leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), following a no-confidence vote in Parliament on May 5. The no-confidence motion was submitted by members of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the hard-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR).
Bolojan led a government backed by a coalition made up of PSD, PNL, Save Romania Union (USR), and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR). After repeatedly clashing with Bolojan over various measures, PSD withdrew its support for the PM and exited the government.
Making the announcement, the president said Romania’s image abroad and the country’s “financial situation” had improved compared to a year ago, when the coalition government took over. Still, during this time, the tensions between the coalition parties grew and “unfortunately, many politicians put the party interest ahead of the national one,” the president said.
“Because the political parties are unable to reach common ground, the only viable solution is a prime minister who is independent of the parties represented in Parliament,” he argued.
“I have chosen, as my nominee for prime minister, a person who is independent of the parties in Parliament, but who also has the political experience needed to engage with each of those parties, because consensus among many parties is needed on many issues. Political experience is essential.”
In his turn, Tomac pointed to the current “difficult context” and said he was aware of the Romanians’ expectations and the challenges that need to be overcome.
He said he would present the Parliament with a “team of specialists, a technocratic government, not a political one.”
Following the nomination, Tomac has ten days to come up with a list of ministers and a governing program, which need to be approved by Parliament. If the Parliament rejects the president’s proposal, the process restarts.
Tomac was appointed an adviser to the president for ‘Relations with Romanians Everywhere’ in October of last year.
A graduate of the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest, he has been a MEP since 2019. In the Brussels legislature, he serves as a member of the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Delegation to the EU – Republic of Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee, and the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, according to his bio on the Presidential Administration website.
From 2012 to 2019, he was a member of the Romanian Parliament. Between 2009 and 2012, he was a state secretary in the Department for Romanians Everywhere and later a state counsellor within the Chancellery of the President of Romania. He was also an expert on Relations with Romanians Abroad within the Presidential Administration from 2006 to 2007.
(Photo: screen capture from live broadcast)
simona@romania-insider.com
Leave a Reply