Bucharest (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Romania’s new government, led by Ciolacu, aims for stability, a pro-European trajectory amid political turmoil and election controversies.
Romania’s new government was sworn in by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the leftist Social Democratic Party. The new pro-Europe administration has been charged with providing stability and preserving the country’s pro-European trajectory.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu’s new government acquired 240 votes in favour, seven more than the needed 233 votes for motions to approve. Six ministries will be under the National Liberal Party (PNL), seven will be handled by the Social Democratic Party’s (PSD) control, and the remaining two cabinet positions will be taken up by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania.
Outgoing President Iohannis stated that he spoke with all the new cabinet members, hoping for their success and encouraging them to perform in unity for the people of Romania. Iohannis also said that all the ministers he had talked with expressed interest in continuing Romania’s pro-European trajectory.
What controversies surrounded Romania’s recent election cycle?
On 1 December, Ciolacu’s PSD received about 22% of the votes in an election cycle obscured by controversy. The parliamentary vote came sandwiched between the first and second contests of the country’s presidential vote, which saw the right-wing make significant gains in Romania’s political terrain.
The parliamentary vote followed a presidential election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu won the first match. Georgescu’s shock success plunged Romania into unrest, and there were allegations of electoral offences and Russian interference.
Days before the 8 December presidential vote, Romania’s Constitutional Court pushed the unusual move to cancel the presidential race. President Iohannis, who declared he would stay in his post until a new president is selected, hopes the new government can conclude a protracted political situation in the European Union and NATO nations.
