Romanian President Taps Diplomat as Fourth PM Candidate in Five Months
Romanian President Nicușor Dan has nominated diplomat Luca Niculescu as prime minister-designate, the fourth such attempt since the governing coalition collapsed in May, as pressure grows for snap elections.
A new bid to end the deadlock
President Nicușor Dan on Monday named Luca Niculescu, currently a secretary of state at the foreign ministry, as his nominee to become Romania's next prime minister. Niculescu becomes the fourth person tasked with trying to form a government since the ruling coalition fell apart in May.
Under Romanian rules, Niculescu now has ten days to secure a parliamentary majority behind his proposed cabinet and governing program. Two of his predecessors failed that vote, and a third nominee never even reached parliament for a vote.
After three failed attempts, Dan is under growing pressure to dissolve parliament and call an early election — something he has so far resisted, reportedly out of concern it could strengthen a hard-right, euroskeptic opposition party.
Announcing the nomination, Dan praised Niculescu's diplomatic skill at reconciling opposing positions and stressed the urgency of forming a government to fix struggling institutions and pass next year's budget. He warned that continued uncertainty was already affecting the exchange rate, interest rates and investment in the country.
George Simion, leader of the far-right AUR party that currently tops opinion polls, declined to join Monday's talks at the presidential palace and renewed his call for fresh elections. Simion ran against Dan in last year's presidential race.
Dan reiterated that any new government would exclude parties he considers anti-Western, a reference primarily to AUR, and said he was confident a Niculescu-led government would keep Romania aligned with the West and honor its financial commitments.
Niculescu has spent the past four years overseeing Romania's bid to join the OECD. Accepting the nomination, he acknowledged the country faces a prolonged and difficult period of uncertainty, and pledged to negotiate with parliamentary parties to build a majority behind a realistic governing program rooted in Romania's European and transatlantic orientation.
