Romania's new president nominates centre-right former mayor as PM
Romania's new pro-Western president, Nicusor Dan, on Friday nominated a centre-right former mayor to be prime minister.
The nomination comes as Romania, a European Union and NATO member state, seeks to usher in a new government to end a protracted political crisis that has gripped the nation since last year.
Dan nominated 56-year-old Ilie Bolojan of the centre-right National Liberal Party, or PNL, after a fresh round of talks Friday following weeks of deliberations.
Bolojan had previously served as acting president from February to May, when Dan defeated a hard-right opponent in a heated presidential election rerun. The closely watched vote came months after the previous election was annulled by a top court, which plunged Romania into a deep political crisis.
Dan described Bolojan as the 'most suitable person' for the job, which includes tackling a budget crisis.
'It is in Romania's interest for the government to be supported by a solid majority, and the parties have understood this,' he said. 'Romania's urgent priority is economic recovery, but ... you need a solid foundation.'
Nomination will need to be approved by lawmakers
Bolojan's nomination will need to be approved by parliament, and his government is expected to be comprised of the leftist Social Democratic Party, or PSD, the PNL, the reformist Save Romania Union party, and the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party.
The PSD has pushed for a power-sharing agreement that would see a rotation of the prime ministerial post.
Responding to his nomination, Bolojan said he's 'fully aware of the great responsibility' the role will bring and acknowledged it 'will not be an easy undertaking.'
'I will continue discussions with political parties to secure a parliamentary majority, finalise the government, and define the governing program,' he said. 'I will pursue three priorities: to restore order to the country's finances, to work toward good governance that creates conditions for development in Romania, and ... to show proper respect to the Romanian people.'
Reducing Romania's considerable budget deficit—one of the greatest in the 27-nation EU bloc—will be one of the main challenges facing a new government. Deep social divisions in the nation were also made clear by the controversies that surrounded the presidential election.
According to Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, the new government will face the challenge of reaching a longer-term consensus over already delayed state reforms.
'There is only a disputed agreement on very short-term measures for the economic and budget crisis,' he told The Associated Press. 'If the short-term measures come with a social cost, inflation ... (and) will not be met by profound changes in policies and institutions, then the political crisis will loom over the next years and (future) elections.'
In the wake of the May presidential election, Bolojan, acting as president, named PNL's Catalin Predoiu to lead the cabinet after Marcel Ciolacu resigned when his coalition's candidate did not advance to the runoff.
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