Siegfried Mureșan formally nominated for PM, has 10 days to seek Parliament confidence vote

Romanian president Nicușor Dan signed the decree formally designating Liberal MEP Siegfried Mureșan as a candidate for prime minister on Monday, September 21. The decree was published in the Official Gazette the same day, triggering a 10-day deadline for Mureșan to request Parliament’s confidence in his governing programme and proposed cabinet.

“I am treating this responsibility with the utmost seriousness and with a clear objective: forming a competent and stable government capable of moving Romania forward,” Mureșan said on Facebook.

“We will correct the injustices accumulated in society and be an unequivocally pro-European government.”

In separate statements, Siegfried Mureșan said he expects to present the main elements of his governing programme on Tuesday before beginning talks with parliamentary parties, according to Digi24. He intends to submit the complete programme and list of ministers to Parliament by the end of the week.

In a later post on Facebook, he announced that one of this main goals is to reduce VAT back to 19% as soon as the country could afford it. “Romania’s economy is on a more solid footing, and we do not need further increases in taxes or VAT,” he wrote, arguing that the government should continue reducing waste and controlling state spending before considering an easing of fiscal measures.

The prime minister-designate also told RFI Romania that he would proceed to an investiture vote even if he failed to secure commitments from a parliamentary majority beforehand, Agerpres reported.

“Obviously, I will go to the vote,” Mureșan said, citing his constitutional responsibility and his intention to present the proposed reform agenda publicly.

“People will have the opportunity to see whether PSD (the Social Democratic Party) supports a pro-European government or whether it is in opposition together with AUR,” he added.

Siegfried Mureșan also stated that the planned executive would be a minority government formed by the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) - the three parties that backed his nomination for PM. Most ministers would come from these parties, although he did not exclude appointing some technocrats.

“We will first finalize the governing programme,” he said. “After we see what we intend to achieve in each area, we will identify the people best suited to implement those policies.”

The nominee also mentioned that he would announce the complete cabinet rather than releasing individual names in advance.

Further on, Mureșan rejected suggestions that he had hesitated before accepting president Nicușor Dan’s proposal. He said his priority had been to understand the president’s plan and agree on the next steps, which the two are expected to discuss after Dan returns from the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Week in New York.

Romania has been governed by Ilie Bolojan’s caretaker administration since his Liberal-led government was dismissed in a no-confidence vote more than four months ago.

If Mureșan’s cabinet fails to receive Parliament’s confidence, it would be the second rejected investiture request. This could allow the president to consider dissolving Parliament and calling early elections.