Social Democrat (PSD) leader Marcel Ciolacu has been appointed by president Klaus Iohannis to form the new government, with the prime minister set to request a vote of confidence from Parliament later today, December 23. Ciolacu thus returns to Victoria Palace as head of government, backed by the newly-emerged ruling coalition.

The new cabinet will be tasked with establishing a timeline for the presidential elections scheduled for spring 2025. The political leaders of ruling partners PSD, PNL, and UDMR announced on Monday morning that former Liberal leader Crin Antonescu would be their joint presidential candidate.

In his remarks on Monday, president Iohannis expressed his approval of the pro-European coalition consisting of PSD, the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Hungarian party UDMR, and national minorities, which has decided to build a majority government. He highlighted the achievements of the coalition, including economic successes and Romania's accession to the Schengen Area, and expressed confidence that the government will continue the country's positive trajectory.

In his turn, Marcel Ciolacu thanked the president for the trust placed in him, acknowledging the challenges ahead. He emphasized his belief that lessons had been learned from past mistakes and promised to seek the best solutions for the future. 

"The mandate entrusted to me honors and obliges me. We are living in complicated times, but we have all learned from the mistakes of the past. I hope that, together with my coalition colleagues, we will find the best solutions to overcome the challenges ahead. I am aware that this will not be an easy mandate. What is essential is that this government restores investor confidence and ensures a predictable climate for the business environment. We must accelerate the reforms outlined in the PNRR to reduce budgetary expenses. Any surplus should be directed towards investments as we have done so far," the appointed PM said, as quoted by Euronews Romania.

Marcel Ciolacu also served as Romania's prime minister starting in June 2023 and had been the president of the Chamber of Deputies from 2021 to 2023. He also ran for president in the 2024 elections but did not make it past the first round, securing 19.15% of the votes.

PSD, PNL, UDMR, and the national minorities' group have signed the coalition agreement after reaching a consensus on the future government and the composition of the cabinet. 

PSD will have most representatives in the new government. As such, Radu Marinescu will lead the Ministry of Justice, Sorin Grindeanu will remain minister of transport, Alexandru Rafila will continue as minister of health, Angel Tîlvăr will hold the position of defense minister, Natalia Intotero will lead the Ministry of Culture, and Florin Barbu will head the Ministry of Agriculture. Also from PSD, Bogdan Ivan will be the minister of economy and digitalization, and Simona Bucura Oprescu will lead the Labor Ministry.

PNL will have six ministries out of the 16 in the new executive. Thus, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be led by Cătălin Predoiu, who will also serve as deputy prime minister, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be headed by Emil Hurezeanu, former ambassador of Romania to Austria. Marcel Boloș will take over the Ministry of European Funds, while the Ministry of Energy will be led by Sebastian Burduja. The Ministry of Environment will be headed by Mircea Fechet, and the Ministry of Education and Research will be led by Daniel David, the Rector of Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.

The minority partner UDMR will have two ministries, with Cseke Attila appointed as the new minister of development and Tanczos Barna taking over as the new finance minister.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Malina Norocea)