Political Deadlock in Romania
The political crisis in Bucharest continues.
Bogdan Matei, 29.06.2026, 14:00
Romania faces an unusual situation in nearly four decades of post-communist Romanian democracy: MPs are preparing to go on recess on July 1, and the country risks being left with a government lacking full powers, one that only a joint session of both chambers could confirm. The crisis has been going on since May 5, when the minority PNL-USR-UDMR executive team, led by Liberal Ilie Bolojan, was dismissed by Parliament through a motion of no confidence. Two attempts to form a new government have failed. The first ended without a vote of confidence after the withdrawal of the designated candidate, Eugen Tomac, leader of an extra-parliamentary party, and the second cabinet, proposed by dissident Liberal Adrian Veștea, failed to secure the necessary number of votes in Parliament. ‘There is a political deadlock’, acknowledged President Nicuşor Dan, following new discussions with the leaders of the declared pro-Western parties, the PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR, and with deputies representing national minorities other than the Hungarian minority.
The head of state has two proposals for prime minister on his desk: one from the PSD, in the person of Social Democratic leader Sorin Grindeanu, and a joint proposal from the PNL, USR, and UDMR, namely the Liberal MEP Siegfried Mureșan. Grindeanu previously served as prime minister from January to June 2017, when he was dismissed, again through a no-confidence motion, introduced, in a unique case in the Romanian parliament, by his own party, after he had fallen out of favor with the Social Democratic leader at the time, Liviu Dragnea, who was later imprisoned for corruption. Until his split with Dragnea, Grindeanu’s government promoted legislative proposals that experts say were intended to subordinate the judiciary and put an end to the fight against corruption. Much more active in Brussels than in Bucharest and little known to the general public, Mureșan, according to his party leader, Bolojan, is devoted to European values and has experience in managing European funds and large investment budgets.
Visibly irritated, President Dan made no secret of his dissatisfaction that the Liberals had stopped supporting a PSD minority government, as they had initially pledged to do. The PNL has made it clear, through various statements, that it does not unconditionally support Grindeanu, while the PSD refuses to put forward another candidate for prime minister and even hints at early elections if a majority willing to take on the government cannot be formed in parliament. The PNL and USR, for their part, say that early elections are a possibility. These are also seen as the only solution by the AUR (the nationalist opposition), right from the start of the political crisis. Meanwhile, in the capital, Bucharest, where more than one-tenth of the entire Romanian electorate is concentrated, 73% of the respondents to a CURS opinion poll believe that Romania is heading in the wrong direction, while only 16% believe it is heading in the right direction. (LS)
