Negotiations for the Government: PSD is trying a new scenario in Parliament. What are the other parties doing?

PSD is looking for and testing whether it gathers the necessary votes in Parliament for a social-democratic government, party sources tell HotNews. It is the most recent scenario analysed, after Sorin Grindeanu said, on Monday, answering a question from President Nicușor Dan, that the party assumes the government. But what does the parliamentary math show?

The negotiations for the formation of the new Government continue, and the discussions are taking place on several fronts. Officially, tomorrow the consultations continue in Cotroceni. Nicusor Dan welcomes them unaffiliated parliamentarians and two of the small parliamentary groups – respectively, Uniti Pentru Romania (UPR), made up of former POT parliamentarians, and PACE – First Romania, which includes former parliamentarians elected on the SOS Romania and POT lists.

Also officially, the main parties in the former governing coalition – PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and the minorities – have not announced any changes.

PNL and USR have not changed their position: they enter the opposition, if PSD is part of any Government.

The UDMR further excludes participation in a government supported by the AUR (90 votes) or being part of a minority Government.

Grindeanu, the scenarios and “the variant that is not among the favorites”

Now, the PSD is trying to coagulate a majority in the Parliament to invest its own Government, a monochromatic one – that is, made up only of the PSD members, political sources tell HotNews. It is a variant that former president Traian Băsescu also spoke about, who said that “PSD is the most experienced party in creating majorities in Parliament”.

The discussions arose after the president Nicușor Dan asked the social-democratic delegation, on Monday, at the consultations in Cotroceni, if they assume the government. “The answer was yes,” Social Democratic sources told HotNews.

At the same time, Sorin Grindeanu confirmed, on Wednesday, in an interview given to Adevărul, that the scenario of a PSD Government “is a job that I do not exclude”.

“I also told the president,” continued the PSD leader, who then admitted: “But it's not one of the options that, let's say, is among the president's favorites, in the end, that you've seen the conditions. This is not just about the PSD,” he explained.

Grindeanu also said that he still agrees with the option of a technocrat prime minister leading a cabinet of political ministers.

“PSD has the votes even without AUR,” says a social democratic leader. What the calculations show

In the scenario of a PSD-only Government, the social democrats seek support in Parliament from non-affiliates (21 votes), UDMR (31 votes), minorities (17 votes) and small parliamentary groups – PACE (11 votes) and UPR (16 votes).

“PSD has the votes even without AUR”, claims a party leader. But what does the parliamentary math show? The calculations are simple.

In this hypothesis, with support from non-affiliates, UDMR, minorities, PACE and UPR, 224 votes are reached. That is, 9 below those required for the investiture of a Government.

So, based on this calculation formula, PSD (127 votes) is still counting on breaking the PNL and on the votes of a few liberals who could betray Ilie Bolojan, according to some sources, in order to reach the necessary 233 votes.

The UDMR clearly excludes certain scenarios

And while looking towards the PNL, the PSD does not know for sure if it can count on those of the UDMR. And this all the more since PSD is also analyzing the option of a minority Government alongside this party.

Kelemen Hunor declared on Tuesday evening, in an interview for Digi24, that the option for UDMR to be part of a minority Government with PSD “does not exist”.

“It's not possible. We don't want to, it's not possible. (…) I've been saying since last week that this solution does not exist, this possibility does not exist”, he said.

Today, at the Parliament, Kelemen Hunor reinforced this statement, stating that he has not spoken with Sorin Grindeanu since Monday, when the consultations took place in Cotroceni.

“We are now in that part of the former coalition that was taken down by the PSD and the AUR. (…) Plus, we have a red line – the AUR. I can't cross that. I don't even get to discuss the conditions of the PSD or discuss the formation of a minority coalition. Plus, if there was such a solution, that would mean that you are in the hands of those from the AUR. It's not possible, I can't accept something like that,” said the UDMR leader.

Thus, recently, Kelemen Hunor also spoke about the option of the formation entering the opposition:

“I can't promise you today that the UDMR in 2026, in the coming months, will be able to participate in the government, maybe we will enter the opposition. I am not afraid of such a thing. I think that the opposition can be a new chance for construction. But we want to be part of a government that will be able to put order in the country, to give good solutions to the country's problems,” the UDMR leader said on Friday.

PNL and USR remain in the same position

PNL and USR have not changed their position at all. Both parties refuse to enter a coalition with the PSD and also to vote for a Government that includes social democrats, regardless of whether it is led by a technocrat, who they say would become “just a front for a pro-privilege and anti-reform PSD government”, or a political prime minister.

It is expected that the leaders of the parliamentary parties will be called again to Cotroceni, for a new round of negotiations.

The president is looking for a parliamentary majority, but he also has a list of several options for a technocrat prime minister. Among the names on this list are Delia Velculescu, head of the IMF mission in South Africa, Radu Burnete, presidential adviser on economic policies and Eugen Tomac, honorary adviser to the president for relations with Romanians everywhere.

At this point, it is not clear from which camp the first significant concession will come.