Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu (Social Democrat) will hold talks with the leaders of all political parties in Romania starting Monday, July 1, to set the dates of the presidential elections.

He emphasized that Friday, June 28, was the last day the government could adopt an emergency ordinance to organize the presidential elections on September 15, as previously agreed by the ruling coalition, News.ro reported.

However, the Liberals asked to move the presidential elections to a later date and interior minister Catalin Predoiu (PNL) didn't provide the emergency ordinance draft requested by PM Ciolacu (PSD). Still, Ciolacu suggested he would not ask for Predoiu's dismissal and trigger a governmental crisis in Romania. 

"I am glad that, so far, the government act has not been affected by political tensions, not even in the electoral campaign that has just ended. Because we all understand that this government does not belong to the coalition or any party, it is the Government of Romania. All of us here, regardless of the party we belong to, have a huge responsibility to ensure the stability of this country, and this also means respecting your commitments. It is not a matter of one term or another for holding the elections, it is a matter of trust. The fiddling with the calendar affects this trust between the partners, and from my point of view, it must stop," Ciolacu said at the beginning of the Government meeting on June 28.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)