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Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD), the winner of the parliamentary elections on 1 December, has pulled out of government formation talks and will back a right-wing government, the party’s leader, Marcel Ciolacu, said on Thursday.
Ciolacu’s announcement on Facebook surprised many social-democratic MPs and ministers who found out about the news through journalists in parliament.
“I fully understood the vote of the Romanian people. It was a vote of censure against a political class more focused on petty conflicts and revenge than on the well-being of Romanians,” Ciolacu wrote on Facebook.
PSD tried to overcome disagreements with potential coalition partners and move forward together to provide Romania with “a stable and functional government as soon as possible.”
“Unfortunately, you cannot build anything sustainable with partners who cannot rise above their own pride and ideological clichés, behaving as they did during the election campaign that brought us here,” said Ciolacu in a swipe at potential partners.
In his Facebook post, Ciolacu also said that his party would vote for a right-wing government in parliament – a decision, which according to political sources, was made without extensive consultation with other party leaders and could be part of a broader negotiation strategy.
On Thursday, the pro-European parties were expected to allocate ministries and present a proposal for a PSD prime minister to the president, followed by a confidence vote for the new government in parliament.
Without PSD, the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) have just over 30% of parliamentary seats, making it nearly impossible for them to pass legislation without PSD’s support.
The extremist parties, Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), SOS, and POT, represent about 32% of the seats in parliament.
AUR, which came second in the elections, is seriously considering being part of government formation talks, the party’s leader, George Simion, said on X.
He also assured Romania’s Euro-Atlantic partners that Romania “will respect its commitments, and future policies will be in line with our colleagues from centre-right Italy”.
Liberals leader Ilie Bolojan also expressed readiness to assume responsibility for governance.
Bolojan is among the frontrunners for the post of prime minister, and USR leader Elena Lasconi said during the election campaign that she would appoint him if elected president.
In a press conference at the European Council in Brussels, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis insisted that a minority government was “not a good solution” in times of crisis.
He cited challenges such as the war on Romania’s border, hybrid attacks on the country, and the complex situation in the European Union, where even key member states are facing government instability or early elections.
Romania, Iohannis warned, does not need an “extended governmental and parliamentary crisis”.
He also announced plans to consult with parliamentary parties to nominate a candidate for prime minister before Christmas.
UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor also opposed backing the formation of a minority government, urging pro-European party leaders to “calm down” and return to the negotiating table.
Economic consultant Adrian Negrescu warned that PSD’s decision to withdraw away from coalition talks could “push Romania into the arms of the International Monetary Fund”.
“It is hard to believe that the new government will be able to borrow at sustainable interest rates,” Negrescu told Agerpres.
According to him, the solution of a minority government, without real support in parliament, is likely to raise serious questions about implementing the tough but necessary reforms that Romania needs.
(Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)
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