Romania’s President Holds Consultations with Parliamentary Parties

Consultations were held on Wednesday on the formation of a new Government in Romania.

Valentin Țigău, 15.12.2016, 13:17

On Wednesday,
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis invited the representatives of the parties
represented in the future Parliament to talk about the formation of a new
government. The Social Democratic Party, the winner of the December 11th elections, and their partner, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, did not
attend the talks, saying the invitation was premature given that the final
make-up of the future Parliament had not been established yet.

The attitude of
the two parties has been described by the president as uncooperative and
unhealthy in relation to the head of state. At the talks, the other parties
and representatives of ethnic minorities presented their view on the
post-election period and the appointment of a new prime minister. None of them
made a nomination for this position, but all stood against the appointment as
prime minister of any person with a criminal record.

The interim president of
the National Liberal Party Raluca Turcan said the Social Democratic Party was
unable to provide the prosperity expected by citizens, describing the
unsustainable promises made by this party as confidence fraud. Turcan also
found surprising the haste with which the Social Democrats abandoned their
governing platform and the principles they espoused during the election
campaign.

The leader of the Save Romania Union Nicusor Dan told president
Iohannis his party would not vote in favour of a government formed around the
Social Democratic Party and its leader Liviu Dragnea, who has a suspended
prison sentence for election fraud during a referendum to impeach the former
president Traian Basescu. He emphasized that it was inadmissible for Romania to
have a government led by a prime minister with a criminal record.

The leader of
the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania Kelemen Hunor said it was
important for the ethnic Hungarian community in Romania that the Union found
partners in the future Parliament to implement the most important elements in
the Union’s political platform. The sixth party to enter the new Parliament,
the People’s Movement Party, did not necessarily see the dialogue with the
president as a consultation for the formation of a new government, but rather
as tentative talks.

This party’s leader, the former president of Romania
Traian Basescu, said the People’s Movement Party was and would be part of any
political solution against the Social Democratic Party. He said this position
was based on both ideological reasons and the opposition to how the Social
Democrats viewed the management of budget resources, namely in a populist
manner, as if to prepare Romania’s departure from the parameters required to
enter the Eurozone. According to president Iohannis, a new round of talks will
be held as soon as the new Parliament is validated.