The Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) unanimously voted on Wednesday, June 23, to return to government with its leader, Sorin Grindeanu, as prime minister. The party, formerly part of the governing centrist coalition, voted in May to bring down the Liberal-led Ilie Bolojan government despite earlier agreements.
The decision also comes after a proxy of the Social Democratic Party, the Veștea cabinet, failed to gather support in Parliament. Designated PM by president Nicusor Dan in order to remove Bolojan as PNL head and coerce the party back into an alliance with PSD, in the end, Veștea received only the votes of PSD and those of its satellites.
Meanwhile, Bolojan was reconfirmed as PNL leader and expelled internal dissenters in an extraordinary congress. Then, the interim prime minister proposed a six-month national political agreement open to all parliamentary parties to president Nicușor Dan. The agreement is aimed at implementing a limited set of priorities through a minority government
Under the proposal, the minority cabinet could either be formed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), as the largest parliamentary force, with full political responsibility, or by the other three members of the former ruling coalition, namely PNL, the reformist party USR, and the Hungarians’ party UDMR, with support in Parliament from the signatories to the agreement.
By voting to back Grindeanu, 52, as PM, the Social Democrats seem to acquiesce to PNL’s proposal. The left-wing party highlighted that it would assume government to improve economic conditions.
“The purchasing power of the population has collapsed. We need a functional government and not a new season of political conflicts. We all, including us, have our share of responsibility for reaching this point. The time has come to come up with concrete solutions that put Romanians first,” Grindeanu announced at the press conference after the PSD meeting.
“PSD wants autonomy over the governing program. If it were a PSD government, it would not be afraid and would not stand with its hat in hand in front of anyone. The objective is economic relaunch,” he added.
Grindeanu was reportedly backed by numerous PSD leaders across Romania during the party meeting. The mayor of Pitești, Cristian Gentea, and the president of the Suceava County Council, Gheorghe Șoldan, were those who officially proposed him for the position of prime minister, according to Antena 3.
The initiative was also supported by the mayor of Galați, Ionuț Pucheanu, who quickly consolidated a consensus within the party.
The Social Democrats’ announcement comes just one day after consultations at the Cotroceni Palace. Yesterday, Nicușor Dan stated that discussions with parliamentary parties had outlined the possibility of forming a minority political government, supported by a parliamentary agreement. The president also made a call to parliamentary parties to speed up negotiations and establish a governing formula.
Grindeanu previously served as prime minister of Romania in 2017, and was deposed by his own party under the direction of then-leader Liviu Dragnea.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos|George Calin)
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