Romanian President Nicușor Dan nominated Ilie Bolojan, a center-right National Liberal Party politician who served as acting president until Romania elected Dan to the role a month ago, for the prime ministerial post.
His nomination on Friday comes after more than a month of political deadlock.
Bolojan now has to form a government and receive approval from the parliament. All four pro-European parties in the parliament are expected to join the government, with the prime ministerial post possibly rotating to the Social Democratic Party in 2027.
The center-right Union Save Romania and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania will also join the coalition.
Former Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned May 5 and his Social Democratic Party withdrew from the government after a presidential candidate backed by the mainstream coalition failed to qualify for the second round of the presidential election.
Dan, who ran as a centrist independent, subsequently beat hard-right nationalist George Simion in a nail-biter vote to keep Romania on its pro-Brussels, pro-NATO path.
Right-wing parties had previously surged in last December’s parliamentary election, forcing pro-Western parties to look past their disagreements and form a fragile government.
After winning the presidency on May 18, Dan pledged to help four pro-European parties form a new governing coalition. He later held several rounds of talks with party leaders and helped broker their agreement. Dan’s victory and the establishment of a pro-Western government now appear to offer a path to political stability for Romania.
The new government will have to tackle Romania’s crippling budget deficit, running at over 9 percent of gross domestic product in 2024. The European Commission recently reprimanded the country for breaking EU limits on government spending.
Addressing the deficit may prove difficult, however. The governing parties and the president are leery of taking unpopular steps, such as hiking taxes. “I hope we will reach to the tax side as little as possible,” Dan said recently.
Prime Minister-designate Bolojan, who is “known for his technocratic efficiency and willingness to make difficult decisions,” will need to manage a politically diverse coalition while also implementing unpopular fiscal measures, wrote analysts at The Smartlink, a Romanian strategy consultancy, putting his leadership to the test.
“Bolojan is the most suitable person” to address the budget deficit, Dan said when nominating the prime minister. “He is a person who, through the positions he has held, has proven that he knows how to reduce and streamline spending … and will have a partner in me.”
Bolojan said he will continue negotiations with the four parties to finalize the governing program.
Carmen Paun contributed to this report.
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