With 11 of the 17 ministers and the deputy prime minister’s post, the PSD will dominate the cabinet, while most of the other ministers have been or will be informally nominated by president Nicușor Dan, who reportedly accelerated the government formation process the previous day by warning of early elections unless Niculescu secured the necessary votes in Parliament.
The vote on the Niculescu cabinet will be scheduled by the Parliament, after the prime minister-designate submits his request on October 15.
Initially, sources suggested that the vote might take place as soon as Friday, October 16, as political support was already secured. However, Cotidianul.ro and Hotnews, citing sources familiar with the developments, indicated that the vote may take place on October 20.
The cabinet may, however, have a limited lifetime of just six months – a period mentioned in statements from both the Social Democrats and the Liberals.
If approved by Parliament, the Niculescu government may function as a PSD franchise, with the Social Democrats’ governing strategy, ministers and oversight, but with as little political capital as possible invested by the party. Notably, Luca Niculescu held no press conference and made no public comments on his cabinet or governing strategy, which was due to be submitted to Parliament on the morning of October 15.
The announcement of the 11 PSD ministers was instead made by PSD president Sorin Grindeanu, who also announced ten key elements of the governing strategy and the timeline for the government formally headed by Luca Niculescu. The executive’s performance will be evaluated after six months, Grindeanu said at a press conference following the party leadership meeting on October 14.
Prime minister-designate Luca Niculescu could secure 279–300 votes in Parliament (versus 233 needed), according to Mediafax estimates, after the Liberal Party (PNL) decided to vote in favour of his cabinet without joining the governing coalition, in exchange for an agreement to be signed with Niculescu.
PNL and UDMR will back the minority cabinet without participating in the government.
PNL president Ilie Bolojan had already announced on October 13 that, under the agreement, his party would not support any no-confidence motion against Niculescu’s cabinet for six months, according to Libertatea. The memorandum had not yet been drafted, but it would most likely include commitments by Niculescu on fiscal consolidation and discipline, as well as maintaining Romania’s foreign policy orientation.
“The document will not be a coalition agreement and will not involve the PNL’s participation in the government, but will establish transparent conditions under which the Liberals can contribute to the country’s stability in the next six months. The PNL will remain in opposition. However, we will support the policies of the Niculescu government when they serve Romania’s interest and respect several fundamental principles: achieving the deficit target and maintaining fiscal discipline, putting the economy on a sound footing and protecting investments, responsible use of public money and respecting European commitments,” PNL said.
The Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) will follow a similar path, in line with the party’s calls for the swift appointment of a government. UDMR will vote for the government led by Luca Niculescu but will not have representatives in the executive, said the party’s Senate group leader, Loránd Turos, in an interview with Digi24.
Although a member of the centre-right coalition with the PNL and the Save Romania Union (USR), UDMR has consistently supported PSD’s social policies and kept the door open to cooperation with the Social Democrats. The priority, Turos said, was to prevent people from having to endure the effects of the economic crisis even more severely.
The Niculescu government and its strategy, as outlined by PSD leader Grindeanu
At his press conference, PSD leader Grindeanu announced ten priorities for the Luca Niculescu cabinet, starting with an assessment of the current budgetary situation and ending with a comprehensive evaluation of the government after six months. He previously conditioned his party’s support for Niculescu on adoption of the Social Democrats’ ruling strategy – essentially aimed at thoroughly revising, if not reversing, the “austerity” policies conducted by Ilie Bolojan since June 2025.
The ten priorities include:
Present Parliament with an assessment of the actual budget deficit. Deadline: November 1, 2026.Sign a memorandum with the business community and trade unions to ensure fiscal predictability in 2027, with no tax increases next year.Revise the 2026 budget to ensure funding for hospitals and other state expenditure. Deadline: November 1, 2026.Draft the 2027 state budget. Deadline: December 1, 2026.Implement the measures envisaged in the economic recovery plan, drafted by the PSD and approved by the Government in the spring. Deadline: November 15, 2026.Compile a report on the status of projects financed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and other EU funds that have been transferred to national funding because of missed deadlines or failure to meet the required conditions.
Draw up a plan to ensure energy and heating supplies over the winter. Index pensions, including military pensions, and the minimum pension.
Exempt mothers on maternity leave, war veterans and people with disabilities from health insurance contributions (CASS).
Launch administrative reform, including the merger of localities with fewer than 1,500 inhabitants and the consolidation of public services to reduce expenditure.
The list of ministers, as announced by Grindeanu for the PSD’s 11 nominees and circulated by the media for the other six, indicates firm PSD control over the executive, except for several ministries for which president Nicușor Dan is reportedly expected to make the nominations.
The list of PSD ministers, confirmed by Sorin Grindeanu, includes:
Marian Neacșu (PSD) – Deputy Prime Minister / Ministry of Interior; Florin Manole (PSD) – Ministry of Labour; Alexandru Rogobete (PSD) – Ministry of Health; Alexandru Stoica (PSD) – Ministry of Development; Radu Marinescu (PSD) – Ministry of Justice; Florin Barbu (PSD) – Ministry of Agriculture; Ovidiu Popa (PSD) – Ministry of Transport; Radu Oprea (PSD) – Ministry of Defence; Natalia Intotero (PSD) – Ministry of Environment; Daniel Zamfir (PSD) – Ministry of Economy; and Mihai Ghigiu (PSD) – Ministry of European Funds.
The technocratic ministers are expected to be:
Ministry of Finance – Alexandru Nazare (independent); Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Dan Neculaescu (independent); Ministry of Energy – to be announced (independent); Ministry of Culture – Ioana Ciocan (manager of the Art Safari cultural programme); Ministry of Communications and AI – to be announced (independent); and Ministry of Education – Sorin Costreie (adviser to President Nicușor Dan).
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