♦ The deadline by which he can do this is June 14, which falls on Sunday (ten days after the appointment, according to the Constitution). On the list of ministers of the future cabinet are intimates of President Nicuşor Dan and people close to the PSD, from the second echelon, but also from the PNL, whom this party does not recognize as liberal proposals. One thing is certain: they are not completely «technocrats», as Tomac promised. The designated prime minister, Eugen Tomac, completed yesterday the meetings with the parliamentary parties, with the exception of the AUR, with which he did not want to have discussions, which means that he will have to seek parliamentary support for his government from the PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR, minorities and non-affiliated parties. You may also be interested: None of the parties that Tomac relies on to pass his government has made any promise of support to the designated prime minister. Validating his government requires 233 yes votes, regardless of where they come from. As things stand now, Tomac cannot collect the 233 votes. In Parliament, PSD 128 MPs, followed by AUR, with 90, PNL with 76, USR with 59 and UDMR with 31 MPs. The group of national minorities in the Chamber of Deputies has 17 mandates. There are also SOS, POT, PACE and unaffiliated MPs – 41 mandates, together. Let’s assume that PSD and AUR would vote for the government (as they voted for the removal of Bolojan) and the other parties would abstain or vote against. It would be, together, 218 votes – insufficient. The majority would be obtained here with the help of the minorities and the unaffiliated. But Tomac refused the support of AUR and it is hard to believe, under these conditions, that this party would have a pro-government vote. PSD plus UDMR, plus minorities, plus non-affiliated would gather 217 votes – insufficient. Therefore, votes from PNL and USR are needed. USR will, more than likely, vote against or abstain. PNL will probably do the same. The phrase «I’m present, but I don’t vote», has slowed down in the Parliament in recent years. The parliamentarian is present, he does not boycott the meeting, but he does not vote, and the vote is not mandatory. No one can blame PNL or USR, if they act like this: basically, those who support the government have the obligation to collect 233 votes in favor of the proposed government. And, for now, Tomac is not supported by anyone.What the parties say after the meeting with the designated prime minister: The president of the liberals, the dismissed prime minister Ilie Bolojan, declared, after the discussion he had with the appointed prime minister, Eugen Tomac, that the PNL will announce in the middle of the week whether it supports the objectives and the composition of the government. However, Bolojan argued that a government that does not have support from the legislative forum is not an option: «We presented our perspective, namely the fact that such a government, which is not based on explicit political support, is not a solution for Romania, not having the practical possibility to continue reforms and pass difficult things that the reality we are going through needs, which Romania cannot avoid, without parliamentary support». The first vice-president of the PNL, Ciprian Ciucu, the mayor of Bucharest, however, accused Tomac, on Monday evening, that the list of ministers is «stitched with white thread» and that beyond the fabric one sees a government controlled by the PSD. Ciucu claimed that the list of ministers that Tomac presented to the party also includes members of the PNL. «Without our support, they are there at your initiative, which will lead the PSD to support the Tomac government is a PNL-USR government. «Two, three, four names with a history in the PNL will be used and your government will be put in our hands, without us being part of the process by which you were appointed to form the government. Fix the Ciolos scenario! PSD will attack you, and we, with common sense, will not attack you. We have seen this movie before,» claimed Ciucu. The leader of the PNL deputies, Gabriel Andronache, also accused that the government proposed by Eugen Tomac is one «infiltrated by the PSD and controlled by the PSD, with the sole political objective of saving the PSD from the formal responsibility of the government».PSD Sorin Grindeanu, PSD president: «The PSD message to Mr. Tomac is a very clear one. We appreciate the responsibility he is showing, but the future government must fundamentally change the Bolojan model of austerity. We will never vote for new taxes, we will not vote for salary cuts, we will not vote for measures that hit pensioners or the Romanian economy.» The PSD asked Tomac to reduce the VAT on food and medicine, and for the state to pay its debts to companies: «If today we have a smaller deficit, it is because the state has bills of billions of lei that it has not paid, and the whole economy is suffocated and blocked at the moment. If this is the direction of the government, then we will be able to discuss.»USR Dominic Fritz, the USR leader, said, after the meeting with Tomac: «Mr. Tomac is a colleague appreciated by us, he is currently a member of the European Parliament together with our colleagues in the European Parliament, in the same political group. However, our appreciation for him personally, as well as our respect for the president, is not necessarily linked to our political analysis of this moment». According to Fritz, the censure motion that led to the fall of the Bolojan government changed things dramatically, in the sense that the new PSD-AUR majority is a reality, and the policies of the two parties support the stopping of reforms. Dominic Fritz: «We hardly see USR support».UDMR The president of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, argued that a government without a transparent majority cannot take the country in the desired direction: «At this moment, from the point of view of political logic, it is almost impossible to vote for a government that we are not a part of, after we were thrown out of a government by a no-confidence motion. We cannot promise a vote for the installation of this government.» Regarding the PNL accusations regarding the list of known proposed ministers, namely that many are close to the PSD, Hunor said: «I saw Ciucu’s statement, maybe they know each other better. From my point of view, a government of interlopers does not work.» The list of ministers who have been announced► Sorin Costreie, proposed for education, is Nicusor Dan’s presidential adviser for education and research. ► Vladimir Ionaş, proposed for minister of development, is a sociologist, close to PSD, through the Aspen Institute Romania, and «Avangarde», a public opinion polling institute. ► Nicolae Istudor, proposed for minister of agriculture, is the rector of ASE. He was, among many others, secretary of state in the Ministry of Agriculture, in the Adrian Năstase government.► Diana Morar, proposed for the Ministry of Labour, is a lawyer and was a PNL deputy in the 2020–2024 legislature.► Luca Niculescu, proposed minister of foreign affairs, is state secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and deals with Romania’s accession to the OECD. He was ambassador in Paris and editor-in-chief of RFI Romania. ► Dan Neculăescu, proposed as defense minister, is Romania’s ambassador to NATO. ► Teodor Dulceaţă, proposed as environment minister, is deputy general secretary at the Ministry of the Environment. ► Adrian Papahagi, university professor and philologist, is proposed for the Ministry of Culture. He is one of the founders of the PMP, a party that Tomac leads today. ► Radu Burnete, presidential advisor on economic issues, could come to the Ministry of Economy (proposal that has not been formalized). ► Another name circulating in the rumor market, for the Ministry of Finance this time, is that of Bogdan Glăvan, a libertarian economist, close to liberal circles.
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