Niculescu cabinet faces two days of hearings before Tuesday's investiture vote, after Bolojan signs PNL support deal
Ministers proposed by prime minister-designate Luca Niculescu are questioned by parliamentary committees on Monday and Tuesday, with a joint sitting set to vote on the government on Tuesday afternoon. PNL leader Ilie Bolojan signed a limited support deal on Sunday, calling it a vote of necessity, not confidence.
Romania's parliament begins a two-day marathon of hearings on Monday for the ministers proposed in Luca Niculescu's cabinet. Each nominee appears before the relevant specialist committees, starting with Florin Barbu, the PSD's pick for agriculture, and ending on Tuesday with Alexandru Rogobete, the PSD nominee for health. The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate will then meet in a joint sitting on Tuesday, 20 October, from 14:00, to decide whether to invest the government. Niculescu needs 233 votes.
The line-up mixes PSD politicians with independents. Marian Neacșu is proposed as deputy prime minister and interior minister, Radu Oprea for defence, Daniel Zamfir for the economy and Radu Marinescu for justice, all from the PSD, while independents Alexandru Nazare, Sebastian Neculăescu and Dumitru Chisăliță are proposed for finance, foreign affairs and energy respectively.
The crucial piece fell into place on Sunday evening, when interim prime minister and PNL leader Ilie Bolojan said he had signed an agreement with Niculescu setting out the conditions under which Liberal MPs will vote for the cabinet. Bolojan described it as a transitional deal for the next two to three months, until the 2027 budget is adopted, and stressed it was neither a political alliance nor a blank cheque. One clause requires next year's budget deficit to fall to a maximum of 5.3% of GDP, the target Romania has already committed to.
Bolojan said the Liberals' vote would be one of necessity rather than confidence and that the PNL would sit in opposition from next week. The party has promised not to file a censure motion before the 2027 budget is approved, provided the terms of the agreement are respected; if they are not, he said, a motion remains an option. He argued that after more than five months without a fully functioning government, leaving the country without one would create even bigger problems.
Opposition to the cabinet remains loud. AUR leader George Simion said his party will not vote for it under any circumstances, and Radu Miruță of USR, the interim defence minister, called it a 'government of shame' that includes people with legal and moral problems. If the cabinet fails in parliament, President Nicușor Dan has not ruled out dissolving parliament and triggering early elections.
Source: Digi24 (with Agerpres, G4Media)