Negotiations for a new Ponta government
The end of the year could bring a new government to Romania.
România Internațional, 03.12.2014, 14:31
A major change is about to happen on the Romanian political scene after the November presidential election, just as it happened in May after the elections for the European Parliament, when the main opposition parties, the National Liberal Party and the Liberal Democratic Party merged. The Social Democrat PM Victor Ponta has already confirmed that the government will be reshuffled with the recent coming to power of the Liberal Reformist Party, which gathers the dissidents from the National Liberal Party.
Co-opting the Liberal Reformist Party is meant to fill in the gap left behind by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, which has decided to leave the government although they have been in power all these years starting in the mid 1990s. This is due to the fact that, at the November presidential election, the ethnic Hungarians voted, by a vast majority, for the representative of the Opposition, which, in the opinion of the ethnic Hungarians’ leaders, invalidates their involvement in the governing coalition. Therefore the new government, to be presented in Parliament in mid December, will include the Social Democratic Party and its junior associates the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Conservative Party alongside the Liberal Reformist Party.
Among the objectives assumed by the future cabinet, the PM Ponta showed, will be the continuation of the projects started in fundamental domains such as the economy, agriculture, European funds absorption and social projects. As regards the big projects, those of national interest, such as the modification of the Constitution and the administrative-territorial organization of the country, the PM said the Power would cooperate with the Opposition. Observers comment that in order to be able to adopt big projects the Power needs a large parliamentary majority, which the new government coalition will not have, so they are forced by circumstances to cooperate with the Opposition.
Also, according to observers, the talks about the number of portfolios to be held by the Liberal Reformist Party are going to be very interesting. Actually the leader of the Liberal Reformist Party, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, a former Liberal PM , and the current speaker of the Senate enjoying the support of the Social Democratic Party, has intimated that his party wants to manage key domains such as finances, economy, transports or education. By way of comparison the claims of the Liberal Reformist Party seem much higher than those of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania that only wanted the environment and culture ministries.
The Opposition however is not looking at the Power’s move passively. Through its co-leader, Vasile Blaga, the National Liberal Party announced that next year they intended to take over power following early elections. Their dream to come to power ahead of the 2016 elections might come true to the extent to which the National Liberal Party will be able to capitalize on the wave of sympathy Klaus Iohannis is now enjoying after winning the November presidential election as the representative of the National Liberal Party.
