A first in Romanian politics
Liberal prime minister Nicolae Ciucă steps down for Social Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu to take over.
Ştefan Stoica, 13.06.2023, 14:00
In over 30 years of democracy that followed the collapse of the communist dictatorship, Romanian politicians have experimented with almost every form of government: from single-party cabinets, either on the left or on the right, some even minority cabinets, but supported openly or not so openly by other parliamentary parties, to coalitions based on ideological similarities or simply circumstantial cross-party interests. The one currently ruling Romania is an example of the latter. Made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, it brings together the biggest parties on the left and on the right. This is hardly new, however: back in 2012, the Social Liberal Union, which brought together the exact same parties, came to power with a huge majority, controlling both the government and Parliament.
As a first, however, Romania now has a rotation government. Based on an agreement from November 2021, the Liberal leader Nicolae Ciucă would serve for one year and a half before stepping down for the Social Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu to take over. The hand-over should have taken place at the end of May but was delayed by the teachers strike. As the strike came to an end on Monday, Nicolae Ciucă stepped down as prime minister, with the coalition parties aiming for the next cabinet to be sworn in by Thursday. Nicolae Ciucă explains:
“The process begins in the coalition for the hand-over to take place. Its important to emphasise that this is followed by an interim cabinet until a new one is sworn in, hopefully by the end of the week. Our intention is for the new cabinet to be sworn in by Thursday so that we can continue to tackle the issues that are a priority in terms of the government programme and everything else connected to the running of the country.”
Professor Andrei Ţăranu believes the hand-over will take place, despite sceptical voices reminding of the many political arrangements and agreements that have failed in this country in the past. Andrei Ţăranu:
“I believe it will take place, otherwise the entire political structure that has been built recently becomes obsolete. Because of this unusual structure, Romania has had what Id call an advantage compared with other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.”
Moreover, says professor Ţăranu, the Romanian version of a rotation government may even turn out to be a success, especially for the neighbouring countries, and it would be a shame to be abandoned mid-way through.
From the opposition, the Save Romania Union is convinced the rotation of prime ministers will not bring a solution to the problems people are facing. In fact, the international media have noted that the Ciucă government has failed to carry through important reforms that were laid down in the recovery plan allowing Romania to receive funding from the European Union. (CM)
