“I wish him great success for the new pro-European coalition”, “capable of managing the timetable for future elections”, declared liberal President Klaus Iohannis.
In Romania, the outgoing social democratic prime minister, the pro-European Marcel Ciolacu, was reappointed as head of government on Monday after a coalition agreement against the fast-rising far right.
“I appoint Marcel Ciolacu as prime minister”declared liberal President Klaus Iohannis. “I wish him much success for the new pro-European coalition”, “capable of managing the timetable for future elections” presidential elections to which the pro-Europeans will propose a single candidacy.
The coalition government, expected to receive parliament's vote of confidence later today, includes Ciolacu's Social Democrats, center-right Liberals and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party. Including minority representatives, the coalition controls around 54% of seats in Parliament.
Weakened government
This new government is weakened by the unprecedented rise of the far right in this country on the eastern flank of NATO which plays a crucial role in supporting Ukraine, with which it shares a long border. Because the far-right AUR party collected 18% of the votes in the legislative elections and in total, the three parties of the nationalist bloc now represent 32% of voters, more than triple the score recorded in 2020 by AUR, then alone in the running.
Candidature unique
Especially since the formation of this majority comes after an unprecedented twist, the cancellation on December 6 of the presidential election by the Constitutional Court, two days before the second round. Earlier, authorities declassified intelligence documents supporting accusations over the role «massif» of TikTok in the campaign, with Russia in the sights, the EU also opening an investigation.
In the first round, the nationalist candidate Calin Georgescu came out on top to everyone's surprise, sweeping away the favorites in the ranks of the government parties and causing a political earthquake. This 62-year-old former senior official, critical of the EU, NATO and all military aid to Ukraine, then spoke of “coup d’état” and estimated that the “democracy was in danger”.
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The new Romanian government will have to organize the vote and the political forces making up the majority have agreed to have a common candidate for president. “We agreed that this candidate would be Crin Antonescu”a 65-year-old former liberal president of the Senate who came third in the presidential election in 2009, said liberal representative Ilie Bolojan.
Dan Tanasa, spokesperson for the AUR party, spoke in a press release of “democratic simulacrum”, “all procedures having been forced” to set up “an illegitimate government”.
