Who is going to form the Government?

The parties that will form the new parliament in Bucharest are already negotiating a majority to support the new Government.

Leyla Cheamil, 08.12.2020, 13:50

The results of Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Romania show that no party got enough votes to be able to form a Government by itself. Therefore, the parties that will be represented in the new Parliament – the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union- PLUS Alliance, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians – must hold negotiations on a majority that would form the new Executive. The president of the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, who stepped down as Prime Minister, has stated that his objective is to form a government alongside partners of the same political orientation.

Ludovic Orban: I am convinced that, in the following days, negotiations will result in a government that will have the capacity to steer Romania forward and, more importantly, to prepare this country’s economic relaunch, once the pandemic is over.

In turn, the first-vice-president of the Social Democratic Party, Sorin Grindeanu, has said that the Social Democrats, now in opposition, have the legitimate right to give the Prime Minister and to form a parliamentary majority. Grindeanu believes that Sunday’s voting punished the country’s leadership for the way in which it had managed the health crisis.

Sorin Grindeanu: It was a no-confidence vote, for the way in which they defied a whole country, for the disastrous way in which they have managed the pandemic and the economy. The Social Democratic Party has the legitimacy to give the Prime Minister and to try and build a majority.

Sorin Grindeanu has also stated that there are zero chances for an understanding with the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, the big surprise of this year’s parliamentary elections, and a final decision will be made by the party’s National Political Council.

The Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance has announced it is ready to govern alongside the National Liberal Party and the Union of Ethnic Hungarians. The co-president of the Alliance, Dacian Ciolos, has stated a reform plan is needed, to provide credibility for Romania and the Romanians, as soon as possible. The other co-president, Dan Barna, has mentioned that any negotiation on the future governing coalition is to be held on the basis of the document titled The Revolution of Good Governing.

Dan Barna: …by creating a decent majority, able to carry through the commitments regarding special pensions and the elimination of immunities.

Newly established and gaining enough votes to be represented in parliament, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians has announced it will remain in opposition, according to its co-president.

George Simion: The Alliance for the Union of Romanians does not trade its supporters’ votes. We cannot form a coalition with either the so-called left, or the so-called right.

George Simion has also stated that his party’s parliamentarians intend to first change the election laws, terming as ‘disastrous’ the way in which voting was organized abroad.

In turn, the president of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, Kelemen Hunor, has said that his party will try and keep the balance within parliament. He believes that the new government should be formed as soon as possible, so as next year’s budget law to be adopted by the end of the year. (M. Ignatescu)