The President of Romania, Nicolae Ciucă, has introduced Siegfried Mureșan as the future Prime Minister of the country in a third attempt to resolve the political crisis.
Parliamentary Consultations and Voting
After a day of discussions with parliamentary parties on Thursday, Ciucă announced in a speech that Mureșan "received the most votes in today's consultations from the parties," although none of the proposed candidates were able to garner majority support.
He said: "In addition to being nominated by three parties, Mureșan is an experienced individual in the European Parliament who has negotiated on important issues over time and therefore has the necessary qualifications for this position."
Acceptance of the Proposal and the Need for a Legitimate Government
Upon the announcement of this news, Mureșan wrote on social media that he accepted the proposal and added that "Romania needs a legitimate government as soon as possible."
Romania has been in a political crisis since April when the Social Democratic Party ended the government of Ilie Bolojan, the then Prime Minister, due to his austerity policies in coalition with the right-wing alliance "Union for the Unity of Romania."
Ciucă's two previous candidates to replace Bolojan failed to gain sufficient party support to form a new government. Mureșan now has ten days to form a cabinet and gain a vote of confidence from Parliament.
He is supported by the National Liberal Party, of which he is a member, as well as the "Save Romania" party and the "Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania." However, he has faced a lukewarm reception from the Social Democratic Party and the coalition, which seems dissatisfied with Mureșan's position as a European Union legislator.
Sorin Grindeanu, the head of the Social Democratic Party and former Prime Minister, wrote in a Facebook post that he is "surprised and disappointed" by the nomination of "a man who just a few days before this nomination launched a fierce campaign in Brussels against his own country to reduce European budgets."
Additionally, George Simion, the leader of the coalition, wrote on Facebook: "We do not vote for Germany, France, or [the Social Democrats]. We only vote for Romania."
Mureșan has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014 and has been the Vice President of the European People's Party since 2019. He is also one of the main voices in the European Union budget negotiations in the European Parliament and serves as a co-reporter for the upcoming multiannual financial framework — the seven-year budget of the Union from 2028 to 2034.
