Changes in Romanian Politics

The Social Democrats want to form a new Government within the week. The break-up of the Social Liberal Union forces the Social Democratic Party to seek a new majority in Parliament.

Ştefan Stoica, 27.02.2014, 13:51

Romania has un unstable Government, Romania’s president Traian Basescu warned on Wednesday when he signed in new ministers into the offices left vacant by the Liberals, who opted out of Victor Ponta’s Cabinet. The move is just temporary. Social Democratic Prime Minister Victor Ponta has announced he is currently negotiating with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania with a view to forming a new Government, which will include the Social Democratic Party and its junior partners the Conservative Party and the National Union for the Progress of Romania.

The new ruling structure will be settled by Tuesday, March 4, when Victor Ponta must submit the configuration of the new Government to Parliament for validation. What’s certain is that the Social Liberal Union is a thing of the past. Although the Liberals have withdrawn, the program of the Union still stands, Victor Ponta has argued.

Victor Ponta: “By Tuesday we will have a Government that will first and foremost share the political platform of the Social Liberal Union. The new structure, the Social Democratic Union made up of the Social Democratic Party, the Conservative Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania, plus the group of national minorities, will ensure majority in Parliament. In order to secure a sound majority, I have submitted an invitation to the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania to share in the power”.

After more than one year in opposition, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians admits to the possibility of joining the Social Democrats to make up the new Government.

Here is the Ethnic Hungarians’ president Kelemen Hunor: “I don’t deny that the best possible scenario would be to have a few ministers in the new Cabinet. This would give our programme more strength and boost our poll ratings”.

With the Social Liberal Union now gone, the Liberals are now the main opposition party. The Liberal Democratic Party is now faced with battling both the ruling Social Democratic Union and the Liberals in Opposition. Some voices even claim the Liberals might negotiate with MEPs of the European People’s Party to join their political group, which would undermine the position of Liberal Democrats within the EPP.

In another development, former Liberal Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu has withdrawn from the National Liberal Party after more than 15 years of activity. Many see Tariceanu as one of the most successful Prime Ministers Romania has had since the demise of communism. His term in office between 2004 and 2008 coincided with an economic boom.

Tariceanu said he would set up an alternative Liberal Party aimed at carrying on the political program of the Social Liberal Union. Moreover, Tariceanu made no secret of his interest in running for president. Liberal leader Crin Antonescu sees the departure of his former colleague as a sad episode in the history of his party. The Liberals, Antonescu ensured, will continue to focus on their objectives and remain strong.