Romania cabinet talks are underway after President Nicusor Dan nominated Siegfried Muresan to form a new government following a prolonged political crisis.
Muresan, a centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL) member and European Parliament lawmaker, plans to build a coalition with the PNL, Save Romania Union (USR) and ethnic Hungarian UDMR party.
However, the three parties do not hold enough seats to secure a parliamentary majority on their own. Current calculations give the coalition about 170 lawmakers, while a confidence vote requires 233 votes. Muresan will therefore need support from other parties or independent lawmakers.
Muresan has 10 days to form government
President Dan nominated Muresan after consultations with Romania’s parliamentary parties. Under the constitutional process, the prime minister-designate must prepare a cabinet and government programme before seeking a confidence vote in Parliament.
Muresan has said he wants to create a serious and credible government. He also described the proposed programme as pro-European and focused on reforms.
The three parties had already backed Muresan as their joint candidate before Dan formally nominated him. Their challenge now involves securing enough additional parliamentary support to pass the investiture vote.
Previous government collapsed
The latest government crisis began after former Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s government lost a no-confidence vote in May.
The vote followed a breakdown in support for the governing coalition amid disagreements over economic policy and efforts to reduce Romania’s large budget deficit. The country has since faced months of political uncertainty while parties struggled to agree on a new governing majority.
Dan had previously nominated other candidates, but those efforts failed to produce a government that could win parliamentary approval. Muresan is now the latest candidate tasked with ending the deadlock.
Fresh elections remain a possibility
The lack of a guaranteed majority creates a difficult path for the proposed coalition.
If Parliament rejects two proposed governments within 60 days of the first rejection, Romania’s president can dissolve Parliament under the constitution. That could open the way for early parliamentary elections.
For now, Muresan will focus on negotiations with other lawmakers as he prepares his cabinet and government programme.
The outcome of those talks will determine whether Romania can install a new government or move closer to another election.
The political uncertainty also comes as Romania faces pressure to advance fiscal reforms and maintain confidence in its economic policies.
