Parliamentary leaders receive call from president for discussions on selecting Romania's upcoming Prime Minister
Heads Up, Folks! 📣
It's confirmed that President Nicușor Dan will be locking horns with parliamentary parties on Thursday, June 19, for discussions on nominating the next Prime Minister. That's right, the big cheeses from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), and Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) have been in negotiations for a good three weeks now, trying to hammer out a governing program and fiscal measures to bring that pesky budget deficit down from its current 8.6% of GDP.
Romania is really feeling the heat to put the brakes on this expanding deficit, as it's projected to reach 8.6% of GDP this year, way off the intended target of 7.0%. The 2024 public deficit, according to ESA terms, currently stands at 9.3%, which is higher than the 8.6% estimated by the Government in January and the 7.9% presumed under the initial fiscal consolidation plan inked last autumn.
With the term of the caretaker Government led by Catălin Predoiu being set at 45 days and drawing to a close on June 20, the new Government needs to submit a package of measures to the European Commission to address the budget deficit by June 30.
According to political sources from News.ro on June 17, PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR appear to have struck a deal for a rotating government, a system that's been in place for the past four years but was largely opposed by PNL, USR, and UDMR throughout the negotiation process. In exchange for having PNL leader Ilie Bolojan as PM, they agreed to have a PSD prime minister from 2027, a year before local and parliamentary elections. Bolojan would also have the right to veto ministers in his cabinet.
PSD is, unsurprisingly, the most heavily represented party in parliament, with the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Its powers have strengthened significantly as it has attracted MPs from the sovereignist parties POT, which made the parliamentary threshold for the first time in 2024, and SOS.
The leaders of PSD gathered for a powwow on the evening of June 17 to mull over whether they're up for joining the new Government, but they haven't yet come to a final decision. After the consultations on June 19, the party will reportedly hold an internal referendum to make the big decision.
The potential Romanian government parties include PNL, PSD, USR, and UDMR, with Ilie Bolojan, a seasoned PNL figure and former Senate President, being nominated as Prime Minister. The government arrangement is likely to involve a power-sharing rotation system, though specifics and terms of rotation are yet to be ironed out in ongoing talks.
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P.S.: Want more deets on the potential parties, PM nominee, government form, and the current status of the negotiations? Check out the enrichment data. 🔍
[1] https://www.dw.com/en/romania-on-the-brink-as-political-leaders-struggle-to-form-new-government/a-65422092
[2] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/864/defence-budget-and-defence-spending
[3] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-15/romania-pm-candidate-i-lie-boloian-s-pledge-is-to-cut-the-deficit
[4] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romania-leader-i-lie-boloian-pd-senate-says-he-will-reduce-budget-deficit-2023-06-15/
[5] https://news.ro/economy/ielie-boloian-fundatia-center-politics-se-INTEHAREA-CA-SA-BANDEASCA-GUSTAV-TRANDAFIR-CA-NTC-PRIM-MINISTRUL-ROMANIEI
- The ongoing discussions over the nomination of Romania's next Prime Minister, involving the parties PNL, PSD, USR, and UDMR, are part of the broader context of policy-and-legislation and general-news, as they focus on fiscal measures, budget deficit reduction, and government formation.
- The proposed government deal, including a rotating system and specific party representatives, is under scrutiny in the realm of politics, with the next step of consultations on June 19 potentially shedding light on the fate of President Nicușor Dan's efforts to form a new Government.
