Romanian President Nicusor Dan has nominated diplomat Luca Niculescu as prime minister in a renewed effort to resolve a prolonged political crisis that has pushed up borrowing costs and put pressure on the country’s investment-grade rating.
Announcing the nomination on Monday evening, Dan said Niculescu had the strongest chances of securing a parliamentary majority and would be free to decide whether to form a political or technocratic government after consultations with political parties.
“I chose the person with the highest chances of reaching a (parliamentary majority) and (he) has the freedom to decide the governing formula — political, technocrat — after talks he will hold with political parties,” Dan said.
Dan also said he was confident that a government led by Niculescu would preserve Romania’s pro-Western direction and meet its financial targets and other commitments.
Niculescu, 55, is a former journalist who later served as Romania’s ambassador to France. He is currently interim deputy foreign minister and oversees the country’s ongoing process of joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
His nomination marks Dan’s fourth attempt to appoint a prime minister in five months, following the collapse of a broad pro-European coalition government in a no-confidence vote.
Niculescu has 10 days to form a cabinet and present it to parliament for a confidence vote.
The previous pro-European government, led by Liberal Party leader Ilie Bolojan, collapsed in early May after the Social Democrats, the largest party in parliament, withdrew from the coalition and joined the far-right opposition in filing a no-confidence motion.
It remained unclear whether the pro-European parties from the former coalition would support Niculescu’s proposed cabinet.
Romania has already met the legal conditions for the president to dissolve parliament and call an early election. However, Dan has repeatedly said he would consider such a move only as a last resort.
Analysts have said snap elections would primarily benefit the opposition hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), which leads opinion polls by double digits. Dan has also said AUR should not be part of any new government.
Romania’s three major credit rating agencies have maintained the country at the lowest investment-grade level with a negative outlook in their scheduled reviews this year.
They have also emphasized the need for Romania to pass its 2027 budget before the end of this year, including further measures to reduce the budget deficit.
Ojo Triumph
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