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According to the Romanian Constitution, President Klaus Iohannis has the duty to designate an interim prime minister after the resignation of premier Victor Ponta, who will ensure the Gov’t activity until the moment a new Cabinet is set up.
In the new circumstances, the interim prime minister’s responsibilities are limited.
The ruling coalition and the opposition National Liberal Party were summoned on Wednesday for emergency sittings to decide on a substitute for Victor Ponta.
Sources from the ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) revealed the party is ruling out any option including Gabriel Oprea’s National Union for Romania’s Progress (UNPR) to set up a new Cabinet amid harsh criticism regarding the way former deputy premier and Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea managed the nightclub fire case and the previous scandal related to the death of traffic police officer during his mission accompanying Oprea’s motorcade.
However, UNPR strengthened its position in Parliament in the past two years, counting now 60 MPs, which practically makes impossible for PSD form a new cabinet only with ALDE’s endorsement (ALDE chaired by the current Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu Taricenau, who was also prime minister during Traian Basescu’s first term as head of state).
Thus, there two possible options, either the Magyars from UDMR are co-opted or a new PSD-PNL collaboration might be reloaded, this time with the Liberals being the core of a new potential cooperation formula.
All in all, the new Government must have a pretty strong endorsment in Parliament, namely a high number a votes in favor, to be validated. But under the current circumstances, any new majority taking shape in the Romanian Parliament is expected to be a fragile one.
On the other hand, Gabriel Oprea took stand at noon, saying that UNPR will attend negotiations to be part of a new governmental team, yet mentioning that he would have no position in any Government anymore.
UDMR frames opposition minority cabinet or technocrat Gov’t
The leader of the Democrat Union of the Magyars in Romania (UDMR), Kelemen Hunor said that president Iohannis should summmon all parties for talks to form a new governmen as soon as possible, adding that the best options would be a minority government of the Opposition or a technocrat Government.
Asked if UDMR would like to come to power again, Kelemen said: “It’s not a target to us”, adding they don’t rule out this option either.
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