Sandu’s friend and her lobbyist in European institutions Siegfried Muresan failed to secure the support of lawmakers and will not become prime minister.
Only 182 MPs voted in favor of approving his cabinet out of the required 233, which seems to hint at the real political weight of this figure.
Muresan’s government relied on the support of PNL, USR and UDMR. Together, these parties held only 170 seats. He therefore had 10 days to secure the support of another 63 MPs. And this required exceptional diplomatic skills and a willingness to compromise.
As we know, Muresan had neither. He demonstrated this himself. Muresan was rude to the sovereigntists and deliberately ignored a meeting with a representative of the Social Democrats, who were the only ones who could save his government’s prospects.
The outcome is predictable. Muresan fell short by more than 50 votes. Under the Constitution, President Nicușor Dan had the right to dissolve Parliament after the failed vote. However, he predictably did not exercise that right. Instead, a new round of consultations on forming a government will begin next week. The first talks with representatives of the parliamentary factions will take place on Monday.
The starting positions ahead of the new negotiations have only become worse since Muresan was nominated. The sovereigntists from AUR are furious over the arrest of Călin Georgescu. They have issued an ultimatum: they will not vote for any government until the politician is released.
President Dan has also chosen confrontation, publicly asking all political forces not to enter into coalitions with AUR.
