Preparations for government swap
The main parties in the ruling coalition in Romania are preparing to trade leadership posts
Sorin Iordan, 17.05.2023, 13:50
The Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă announced he would hand over the post on May 26, to the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Marcel Ciolacu, who in turn is to step down as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and take over as prime minister until the elections due in 2024.
The talks between the Liberals and the Social Democrats regarding the new government are to begin on Wednesday, after both Ciucă and Ciolacu received flexible negotiation authority from the leading bodies of their respective parties.
The Liberals want fewer state secretaries and under-secretaries, and want the protocol on which the ruling coalition is based to stay in force. PM Nicolae Ciucă said that unless the protocol remains valid, the Liberals would seek to renegotiate the distribution of all ministry positions.
Nicolae Ciucă: “The National Liberal Party has not asked for anything but to keep the protocol in effect. The National Political Bureau entrusted these negotiations to us, and during these negotiations, after we have seen the requests made by the other partners, we will make a decision. If the protocol is discarded, the alternative is to renegotiate all posts in ministries, on one condition that I mentioned before, namely to lower the number of ministries and all the posts in the public system-state secretary, under secretary, agencies, public corporations and so on.
In turn, the Social Democrats want a streamlined cabinet, with fewer ministries, state secretaries and government agencies. The Social Democratic leader announced he would like the right people to be appointed to lead public institutions.
Marcel Ciolacu: “My fellow party members authorised us to discuss with each minister, after the new cabinet has been formed, and especially with the cabinet members who held positions in the previous governmental team, and together with the president of the National Liberal Party, Mr. Nicolae Ciucă, to discuss the number and the responsibilities of state secretaries in each ministry, depending on the importance of that particular ministry. What I wish for is to have a cabinet with the right people in the right places, I want this new political approach, where the best people become part of the new government.”
Nicolae Ciucă and Marcel Ciolacu emphasised that they want the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania to stay in the ruling coalition, after its officials warned that the party would leave the government if they lost any positions following the changeover.
The political basis for this PM rotation is an agreement signed in November 2021, with the establishment of the National Coalition for Romania, which comprises the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, and which is supported by the parliamentary group representing ethnic minorities.
It is for the first time in Romanias post-1989 history when a prime minister rotation takes place. (AMP)
