Consultations in Cotroceni between the president Nicușor Dan and the leaders of the parties in the Coalition
President Nicușor Dan meets on Wednesday, April 22, at the Cotroceni Palace, with the leaders of the governing coalition. The meetings take place against the backdrop of the political crisis triggered after PSD decided to withdraw political support for Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
Nicușor Dan, Ilie Bolojan, Sorin Grindeanu, Kelemen Hunor, Dominic Fritz PHOTO AFP, EPA-EFE, Mediafax
“Based on the constitutional prerogatives, the President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, invited the leaders of the following parties and parliamentary political formations to the Cotroceni Palace on Wednesday for consultations: PSD, PNL, UDMR, Parliamentary Group of National Minorities, USR“, the Presidential Administration sent on Tuesday.
Consultations will take place according to the following schedule:
9:00 a.m. – Social Democratic Party (PSD);
10:30 a.m. – National Liberal Party (PNL);
15:00 – Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR);
16:30 – Parliamentary group of national minorities;
18:30 – Save Romania Union (USR).
The political crisis intensified after the PSD overwhelmingly voted to withdraw support for Prime Minister Bolojan. In response, the Liberals gathered in a decisive meeting on Tuesday, in which they sent signals of support for the current prime minister, despite the increasingly obvious differences within the coalition.
Political sources cited by “Adevărul” claim that the prime minister intends to dismiss all PSD dignitaries – from ministers to prefects – and replace them with technocrats and civil society representatives in the government meeting on Thursday.
At the same time, the PNL leadership would ask Sorin Grindeanu to give up the position of president of the Chamber of Deputies, a position obtained by the PSD following the negotiations that were the basis for the formation of the Bolojan government. According to the same sources, Grindeanu does not intend to resign.
PSD believes that the current coalition can continue, but with another prime minister, a scenario in which the social democrats would keep the leadership of the Chamber of Deputies, and the liberals the leadership of the Senate.
USR accuses PSD of deliberately causing the political crisis, endangering the stability of the government and access to European funds. Party leader Dominic Fritz harshly criticized the Social Democrats' decision, which he described as “cynical” at a time of economic and geopolitical vulnerability.
