After canceling the negotiations with PSD and UDMR on the new government on Wednesday, the Liberals will convene in another meeting of the Executive Bureau on Thursday, starting with 14.00, to discuss the unblocking of the situation related to the appointment of the Prime Minister.
Liberal sources told HotNews.ro that Florin Cîțu met last night with President Klaus Iohannis and discussed the name of the future prime minister. Following the discussion, Cîțu would have agreed to give up his nomination and the party to propose another liberal.
According to the quoted sources, Florin Cîțu asked the head of state for assurances that Iohannis will continue to endorse him as PNL chairman. Instead, Cîțu would have promised that he would give up the claim to be nominated for the position of prime minister and that he would support another Liberal at the helm of the future PNL-PSD-UDMR Executive.
Florin Cîțu convened the Executive Bureau today at 14.00 to decide on another nomination for the PM position. The meeting will take place online, in a videoconference system.
Sources quoted by G4Media.ro, Citu is expected to support the acting Finance minister Dan Vîlceanu for the PM position, while the PNL first vice-presidents would endorse Nicolae Ciuca for that.
President Klaus Iohannis also reportedly endorses Nicolae Ciucă for the PM seat. PSD is also willing to accept Nicolae Ciuca as prime minister.
PNL and PSD agreed that the prime minister should be appointed by rotation, but they have not settled yet which party should be the first prime minister in the “rotation”.
On Wednesday evening, the interim prime minister Florin Cîțu stated that the deadlock in the negotiations with PSD is not that the Liberals did not make a proposal for the PM seat, but the fact that both PNL and PSD want to be the first prime minister in the established rotation system.
Asked by journalists why the PNL did not submit any proposal for prime minister, Cîțu replied: “The problem is not the name of the prime minister, but the fact that we have two parties that want to give the first prime minister in rotation. After we conclude the negotiations, we will also talk about the prime minister.”
Cîțu also said that in PNL, the name of General Ciucă for the position of prime minister was not proposNoied, and that the only PSD’s proposal discussed was for Ciolacu to be named prime minister first. Asked if in the negotiations with Marcel Ciolacu and Kelemen Hunor he proposed to the prime minister the general secretary of PNL, Dan Vîlceanu, Cîțu answered: “I proposed to Mr. Ciolacu Mr. Rafila, but he did not agree”.
Commenting this statement by Citu regarding Rafila, PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu said that he had not refused and he is not refusing the nomination of Rafila as PM. “Well, I understand from the media that Mr. Citu said that he had proposed Rafila to me and I said no. I announced him that I haven’t refused, so, Mr. Rafila is the PM proposal.”