Romanian President Nicușor Dan proposed member of European Parliament Siegfried Mureșan as the country’s next prime minister in a third attempt to Bucharest out of its political crisis. Following a day of talks with parliamentary parties on Thursday, Dan said in an address that Mureșan had received “the most votes cast today by the parties in the consultations” — although none of the names floated for the role appealed to a clear majority. Shortly after the announcement, Mureșan wrote on social media that he accepted the president’s proposal, adding that “Romania needs a credible government as soon as possible.” Romania has been in political crisis since April, when the Social Democratic Party teamed up with the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians to topple then-Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan over his austerity policies.
Dan’s first two nominees for Bolojan’s replacement failed to secure enough party support to lead a new administration. Mureșan now has ten days to form a cabinet and win a vote of confidence in parliament. He is supported by the National Liberal Party, of which he is a member, as well as the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania.
But he has received an icy welcome from the Social Democrats and the Alliance — the two largest parties in Romania’s lower chamber — who appear to take issue with Mureșan’s position as an EU lawmaker. The Social Democrats’ president, former Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, said in a Facebook post that he was “surprised and disappointed” by the nomination of “a man who, just days before this nomination, was waging a fierce campaign in Brussels against his own country to cut European funds.” Also on Facebook, using flag and roses emojis, Alliance leader George Simion wrote: “We are not voting Germany, nor France, nor [the Social Democrats]. Only Romania.” Mureșan has been part of the European Parliament since 2014, a vice-president of the European People’s Party since 2019, and a leading voice on EU budget talks in the European Parliament.
He is a co-rapporteur for the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework — the bloc’s seven-year budget — for 2028 to 2034.
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