A Government without Social-Democrats
The PSD has officially left the government led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan and the cabinet has seen a quick reshuffle
Roxana Vasile, 24.04.2026, 14:00
As of Thursday, the ruling coalition in Romania no longer functions in the PSD-PNL-USR-UDMR formula after the Social-Democrat ministers’ step-down. The PSD – which ranked first by far in the Parliamentary elections in December 2024 has formally drawn its support for the Liberal Prime Minister, Ilie Bolojan, denouncing once again the recession, inflation, the collapse of consumption and output in the name of reducing the country’s huge budget deficit. The group has conditioned their remaining in the ruling coalition on the incumbent Prime Minister’s resignation. However, Prime Minister Bolojan refused to step down. Once the PSD ministers left the coalition, the government has reshuffled on the go. The Prime Minister has resorted to the solution of interim ministers, to avoid, as he said, an administrative standstill. The solution does not require a Parliament validation for the next 45 days, a period in which the Executive will enjoy full prerogatives. The Prime Minister has announced he will be personally taking over the Ministry of Energy.
Ilie Bolojan: ʺAt the Ministry of Energy, Ilie Bolojan. I believe I can make things here accelerate to increase production, declutter networks and take the right measures to keep energy in Romania cheap.”
The other portfolios – Labour, Justice, Healthcare, Agriculture and Transportation have been taken over by the PNL, USR and UDMR ministers who remained in the cabinet.
Ilie Bolojan: ʺThe proposals I have made included only people with expertise, those who can take over and start activity soon so that things may run smoothly without breaks and all the projects underway may continue. So, I asked the new ministers to have talks with their outgoing counterparts so that the reshuffle may be perfectly completed. And we are going to have a working meeting on Monday.”
The resignations of the PSD ministers and the interim proposals have been sent to the Presidential Administration. From Cyprus, where he is attending the informal EU meeting, the head of the Romanian state, Nicuşor Dan, has reiterated his decision to maintain his role as a mediator during the present political crisis and wanted to give assurances that Romania is maintaining its European way.
Nicusor Dan: ʺWe have four pro-Western parties, which want to keep this track. For us, the OECD, SAFE and the PNRR are extremely important and there is a consensus for this. Institutions are functioning in a form or another and Romania will go on the path it assumed.”
The PSD believes that in the new formula, the government would be unfunctional and Ilie Bolojan’s heading a cabinet lacking Parliament majority is deeply irresponsible with negative implications for the national economy especially in the present geo-political context. In fact, the ʺBolojan 2ʺ Executive, although with full prerogatives, might be in for a censure motion, though it is unclear yet who may table it. The AUR leader of the nationalist opposition, George Simion, is accusing the PSD that the present political crisis might in fact be a diversion aimed at covering the lack of action and the abandonment of Romania’s strategic sectors.
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