Diplomat is Romania’s fourth prime ministerial candidate in five months

A senior diplomat will try to form a new government as Romania’s prime minister, in an attempt to end a five-month stalemate that threatens the country’s economic and political stability. 

President Nicușor Dan named Luca Niculescu, secretary of state in the foreign ministry, as prime minister-designate on Monday. He is the fourth candidate tasked with leading a government since the coalition collapsed in May. 

To be confirmed in the role, Niculescu will need to win a vote in Romania’s parliament within 10 days to show he has majority support for his new ministerial team and their program for government. 

His task is formidable: Amid bitter divisions between the parties, lawmakers rejected two of Dan’s previous nominees, and a third didn’t even make that far. Dan made his announcement after holding talks with the parties at Cotroceni Palace on Monday afternoon. 

After three previous candidates failed, the president is already facing calls to dissolve parliament for an unprecedented snap election. But he is reluctant to do so, fearing it would bring a far-right euroskeptic opposition party closer to power.

“My proposal for the position of prime minister is Luca Niculescu, a man who, as a diplomat, knows how to harmonize different positions,” Dan said on Monday evening. “It is necessary for Romania to have a government as soon as possible, because there are institutions that need rectification, and there is a need for a budget for next year. Prolonging the uncertainty will have effects on the lives of Romanians.” 

One politician who refused to take part in talks with Dan on Monday was George Simion, leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians party, which currently leads opinion polls. Simion — who challenged Dan for the presidency last year — reiterated his demand for an election to end the chaos. 

The president confirmed that the new government would have no place for parties that are anti-Western — which is his code for far-right groups, especially AUR. “I have the guarantee that a government with Luca Niculescu will maintain Romania’s pro-Western direction and will respect the financial targets and all the commitments that Romania has undertaken,” he said. 

Dan said the uncertainty was affecting exchange rates, interest rates and investments in Romania. Over the past four years, Niculescu has led Romania’s accession process to the OECD, a major milestone in the country’s development. Dan said his candidate would have the freedom to decide whether the government was “political or technocratic.” 

Accepting the nomination, Niculescu said Romania was grappling with a “long” period of uncertainty at a difficult time. “The first mission will be to build a parliamentary majority that will vote for a government that will be deeply anchored in Romania’s European and Euro-Atlantic direction,” he said. “I will have discussions with the parliamentary parties to build this majority and to agree on a realistic governing program.”