What kind of government do Romanians want?
Most Romanians advocate for political compromises to allow the installation of a fully empowered government.
Ştefan Stoica, 09.09.2026, 14:00
For over four months, Romania has been functioning under a caretaker government, a status that grants it limited executive powers. The minority Cabinet, made up of PNL, USR and UDMR, was dismissed on May 5 after Parliament voted in favor of the no-confidence motion submitted by PSD, a former coalition partner, and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR, the populist, nationalist opposition. Two prime minister proposals put forward by President Nicușor Dan have failed, one even before reaching a vote in the legislature.
Politically, things are complicated because, on one hand, PNL and USR refuse to collaborate with the Social Democrats again, while on the other hand, the latter hesitate to formalize their relationship with AUR. For his part, the President does not want to risk nominating a person who could not gather a solid majority.
Citizens, however, are tired of provisional arrangements and uncertainty, especially as the country is not going through a good economic period. That Romanians are tired of political bickering is evident from the data of a recent INSCOP poll, according to which nearly two-thirds of respondents, around 64%, believe it is more important for parties to reach an agreement as quickly as possible to form a fully empowered government, even if each side must make some compromises. At the opposite pole, approximately 27% believe it is more important for parties not to make major compromises, even if forming a fully empowered government takes longer.
Just over half of those surveyed believe there would be negative consequences for Romania if it continues to have an interim government in the coming months. This view is held mainly by people over 60, those with higher education, and residents of Bucharest. Only 14% say there would be positive consequences for the country if the governmental interim period is prolonged.
“Romanians have expressed a clear demand for political functionality and reduced uncertainty”, explains INSCOP Research Director Remus Ștefureac regarding the survey data. According to him, compromise between parties becomes a strong requirement when the alternative is prolonged deadlock, indicating a preference for pragmatism over political rigidity.
The public, Ștefureac further notes, seems willing to accept the costs of negotiation and compromise, but is far less willing to accept the costs of a lack of decision-making. The excessive extension of the government’s interim status is clearly perceived as a source of vulnerability rather than a mere transition period, the survey reveals. In public perception, lost political time is beginning to carry a cost, seriously affecting electoral support for the political parties involved in negotiations, the INSCOP director claims. According to him, the survey indicates a common denominator across voter segments of the main parties: a preference for quickly unblocking the political situation, which suggests that this issue is more about the functioning of the state than partisan identity. (VP)
