However, the parties remain divided over the economic policy and political composition of a new government, leaving no clear path to a stable parliamentary majority.
Luca Niculescu suggested that finance minister Alexandru Nazare could retain his position in the new cabinet [consistent with the consensus on the continuing fiscal consolidation], but said it was too early to discuss ministerial appointments. He also has yet to decide whether the government will comprise politicians or technocrats, an option openly rejected by the Social Democrats (PSD).
“[Nazare] enjoys credibility among foreign partners; he is someone who can have his place in a government,” Niculescu told Antena 3, adding that “this discussion is premature”.
The Social Democrats and Liberals remain divided over the government formula.
Speaking after consultations with the Liberals (PNL), Niculescu acknowledged that proposals previously put forward by the PSD did not have the same level of support from PNL. It remained unclear whether he was referring to economic policy or the composition of the government.
The differences over economic policy are well established, hardly conciliable, and contributed to the collapse of the four-party centrist coalition. Reconciling the parties’ positions may therefore require a government with limited room for manoeuvre, focused on day-to-day administration and meeting fiscal commitments rather than implementing meaningful reforms – something like the current government of PM Ilie Bolojan but with Luca Niculescu and with full [but only formal] power.
PSD wants a political government, but refuses to govern alone.
PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu expressed a clear preference for a government composed of politicians rather than technocrats, but ruled out a PSD-only cabinet. Although PNL and the Hungarian party UDMR had signalled that they could support such a cabinet in Parliament, Grindeanu argued that this would leave the Social Democrats carrying the political burden of governing without adequate support.
He called on PNL and UDMR to join a future government as [junior] partners. Otherwise, he said, PSD would be prepared to support a minority PNL-UDMR cabinet from outside the government, according to an interview with Antena 3.
The position is notable given that PSD, together with the far-right AUR, backed the May 5 no-confidence motion against the government led by Ilie Bolojan, which also included PNL, UDMR, and the reformist Save Romania Union (USR).
PNL, meanwhile, reaffirmed that it would no longer join a governing coalition with PSD following the motion. However, it signalled that it could initially vote in favour of a minority PSD cabinet while remaining in opposition. Grindeanu subsequently rejected that option.
PNL also said it would support Niculescu’s government in the parliamentary investiture vote regardless of its composition, without taking part in the cabinet.
“I informed Mr Luca Niculescu that PNL does not intend to participate in this government,” PNL leader Ilie Bolojan said.
At that moment, however, he was unaware of PSD’s proposal to support a PNL-UDMR minority cabinet, and he assumed PSD would be part of the government.
He explained that the party had decided against joining any government with PSD in the current political context. If the Social Democrats enter the next government, PNL will move into opposition.
UDMR also signalled its willingness to support the investiture of a new government without necessarily joining it. Antal Árpád, the mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe, said the party would wait for the positions of PSD and PNL before deciding whether to participate in the cabinet, according to Mediafax. UDMR’s only red line, he added, was cooperation with parties in the sovereignist camp.
PSD turns down invitation to form a minority government.
Later, Grindeanu explicitly rejected the idea of a minority PSD government, saying it would put the party in a vulnerable position. Instead, he said PSD would vote in favour of a minority PNL-UDMR cabinet.
In response, USR MP Cătălin Drulă noted that PNL, UDMR, and USR had already proposed a minority government led by Siegfried Mureșan, an option that PSD had not supported in Parliament on September 30. Niculescu seeks to reconcile the parties’ proposals in a governing programme.
“There are many good things in all the programmes I have seen so far,” Niculescu said after the consultations.
His next task is to reconcile the parties’ proposals into a governing programme, but the initial talks have exposed a fundamental difficulty: agreement on fiscal commitments does not necessarily translate into agreement on the policies required to meet them, or on who should bear responsibility for implementing them.
After consultations with PSD, PNL and UDMR, Niculescu is scheduled to meet USR and the other parliamentary groups on Monday, October 12, three days before the deadline for submitting his proposed cabinet to Parliament for an investiture vote.
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