site.btaPolitical Analysts in Romania Comment on Rotation of Power

Political analysts in Romania unite around the opinion that a government without the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) would be much weaker. This sentiment is prevalent in their comments on the rotation of power between the governing coalition partners (UDMR, Social Democrats and National Liberals), which was one of the conditions on which the three parties agreed upon when they formed the cabinet in 2021.

National Liberal Party’s Nicolae Ciuca stepped down as prime minister on Monday in order to pass the baton to President of the Chamber of Deputies and leader of the Social Democrats, Marcel Ciolacu, and to implement the rotation of power between the coalition partners. New government is expected to take office by the week’s end.

The changeover was originally scheduled for May 25 but it was delayed as thousands of teachers went on strike to demand higher wages — a request the government conceded to on Monday.

UMDR on Monday threatened to leave the coalition unless it receives powerful ministries — particularly the one responsible for distributing billions in development funds, according to party chair Hunor Kelemen, Financial Times reported.

"If UDMR were to leave the ruling coalition, it would be tantamount to a failure of the rotation. The protocol will not be respected, and the responsibility for this will fall entirely on the Social Democratic Party," Cristian Pirvulescu, a professor at the National School of Political Science and Public Administration in Bucharest, told Agerpres.

"UDMR should continue to be part of the ruling coalition because this way it will be more stable and balanced," former prime ministerial advisor Radu Magdin was quoted as saying by Agerpress. He defined the resignation of Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca as "a gesture of normality" and added that after the rotation the ruling coalition should find "a narrative for development, prosperity and sustainability, despite the crises". "The Social Democratic Party has to prove that it is a political force with a real governing vocation and responsibility," Magdin pointed out.

Pirvulescu expressed belief that the whole trade union movement in the last month has nothing to do with the demands for wage increases, but is rather a political movement aimed at thwarting, delaying and compromising President Klaus Iohannis' decision to radically change the structure of the political regime in Romania.

"Was Nicolae Ciuca a good prime minister", the newspaper Evenimentul Zilei asks in its Tuesday issue and in search of answers notes that Ciuca was in office in times of atypical crises - the COVID-19 pandemic, the geopolitical crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis.

"Ciuca's government was marked by accusations of plagiarism, failure on Schengen, postponement of pension reform, inflation," the Ziare website said.