Romanian President taps new PM-designate in hopes of forming government

BUCHAREST – Romanian President Nicusor Dan tapped a new designated prime minister to form a government in a surprise announcement on June 14, after the previous hopeful for the post dropped out.

Romania, a member of the European Union and NATO, has faced political turmoil in recent years, with the latest upheaval coming in early May when Liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan saw his government brought down in a no-confidence motion.

On June 14, the President tasked politician Adrian Vestea, a 52-year-old Liberal, with forming Romania’s next government after the technocratic solution of European Parliament member Eugen Tomac failed to find the necessary support.

“Mr Eugen Tomac withdrew his candidacy this morning, and under these circumstances, I am appointing Mr Adrian Vestea as prime minister,” Dan said in a statement.

Tomac said that he regretted not being able to convince enough parties to support him.

Dan said that “at this point, however, it is clear that a political solution is the appropriate one”.

Dan has repeatedly ruled out a government that would include the far right, which is rising in Romanian politics.

The President praised Vestea’s experience as a mayor and regional governmental leader, as well as his record as development minister in a previous Romanian government.

Vestea said he would negotiate with “the pro-Western democratic political parties” in Romania’s Parliament in hopes of finding a governing majority.

“I want a political government that will undertake real reforms and keep Romania on a pro-Western course,” Vestea said.

A designated prime minister has to gather 233 votes across both houses of Parliament to form a government.

Bolojan has remained in office as the caretaker prime minister after his administration collapsed, but lacks a majority to govern.

The no-confidence vote in May came after the centre-left Social Democrats (PSD) quit the coalition and joined with far-right parties in voting against the government.

Since then, attempts to remake the previous pro-EU coalition have failed, with the PSD – Romania’s largest political party – refusing to work with Bolojan.

Bolojan, who remains the Liberal party’s leader, said on June 14 that neither he nor other Liberal leaders were consulted or informed by the President of his plans to choose a party colleague ahead of the announcement.

The move, Bolojan said, was “a hostile act and a clear attempt to split” the party.

Bolojan came to power following the controversial annulment of presidential elections in December 2024 over allegations of Russian interference.

Dan was elected president in the rescheduled vote in May 2025.

Bolojan’s coalition government, which took power in June 2025, enacted unpopular austerity measures, including raising taxes, to tackle a large budget deficit that had become the biggest in the EU.

His coalition partners, the PSD, meanwhile saw their electoral base eroded by a rising far right that opinion polls have shown moving ahead of them.

PSD MP Mihai Fifor called Vestea’s designation on June 14 “a key moment in the process of forming the future government”, but said that his party would need to undertake a thorough analysis.

Fifor, writing in a post on Facebook, said that his party’s “top priority remains supporting a pro-Western government”.

The Alliance for the Union of Romanians, the largest far-right party in the country, said in a statement that Vestea’s nomination “only serves to exacerbate the current crisis” and called for early elections. AFP