Romania’s Prime Minister Designate

President Klaus Iohannis has designated the Social-Democrat MEP Viorica Dancila as Romania's new Prime Minister, the third nominated by the ruling coalition within less than a year

Ştefan Stoica, 18.01.2018, 13:30

Viorica Dancila is the first woman designated to form a Government
in Romania. President Klaus Iohannis has accepted the proposal put forward by
the ruling coalition, made up of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance
of Liberals and Democrats, and entrusted Viorica Dancila with this task.
Expecting public disgruntlement, the President motivated his choice, arguing
that both the Constitution and coalition’s majority in Parliament dictated to
accept the nomination. The President insisted on pointing out that the
Social-Democrats need to start putting in some work, especially after the
failure of two consecutive governments within a single year.

Klaus Iohannis: Romanians have high
expectations and so do I. The Social-Democrats have promised a great many
things in the election campaign, salaries, pensions, new schools, new
textbooks, hospitals, infrastructure, and what
they have achieved so far is too little. It’s time the Social-Democrats
proved they are willing to keep their promises.

Visibly pleased, the Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea has stated
the President chose stability. Dragnea has reiterated that the Government will
serve citizens’ interests, a promise the opposition claims the ruling coalition
is yet to keep. Liviu Dragnea:

The Social-Democratic Party
will govern jointly with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, based on the
mandate obtained through popular vote, in order to fulfill its governing
program and meet Romanians’ great expectations. I want to congratulate Viorica
Dancila for her appointment. I believe in her, she is a decent, gratifying and
highly competent woman.

The Prime Minister Designate has stated she will seek to implement
the measures that earned the Social-Democrats the majority in Parliament,
highlighting her priorities. Viorica Dancila:

For us it is paramount to
give 2018 the importance it deserves, given that this year we celebrate 100
years since the Great Union, and we also have to prepare for taking over the
presidency of the European Union Council on January 1, 2019.

Commonly seen by the opposition as the last defense against the
Social Democrats’ strive to restructure state institutions, particularly the
judiciary, the President has been harshly criticized in social media, mostly
because he gave up without a fight, nominating a Prime Minister who’s done
little to recommend her for the job, save her loyalty for Liviu Dragnea. Also
expressing disappointment were the group of protesters who’ve militated against
the adoption of the justice laws. On a social networking site, they have
labeled the president’s nomination as an unacceptable gesture of complicity
with the Social-Democrats. Some NGO members have even staged a protest in front
of the presidency building.

The right-wing opposition has pleaded for early
elections, in turn arguing that the Social-Democrats did not deserve another
Government, after triggering two political crises by toppling its own
governments. There are also less scathing commentators who say the president
did not have any other choice, arguing that Klaus Iohannis is not to blame for
the low turnout in last year’s legislative elections, which the
Social-Democrats won by a landslide. Moreover, the same commentators note that
the right-wing opposition is incapable of building a workable alternative to
the current ruling coalition. (Traslated by Vlad Palcu)