Luca Niculescu is a candidate for Prime Minister of Romania. He has 10 days to form a government

Niculescu, 55, is a former journalist and diplomat who does not belong to any party. He has 10 days to present the composition of the Council of Ministers and obtain a vote of confidence from the Parliament.

From media to diplomacy

From 1992 to 2016, Luca Niculescu worked as a journalist covering international affairs. He was associated with, among others, with the Romanian section of Radio France Internationale and several television stations. He also worked as a permanent correspondent for French media in Romania.

He later began a diplomatic career. From 2016 to 2022, he was Romania's ambassador to France, Monaco and Andorra. He also represented his country in international organizations operating in Paris, including the OECD and the International Organization of La Francophonie.

Since 2022, he has been Secretary of State at the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is also responsible for coordinating Bucharest's efforts to become a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The political impasse continues

Niculescu's appointment is another attempt to end the political crisis that began in May. Then, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's broad pro-European coalition lost power after a no-confidence vote.

The three previous candidates nominated by President Dan – Eugen Tomac, Adrian Vestea and Siegfried Mureșan – failed to build a coalition with a majority in parliament.

Dispute over early elections

According to the electoral calendar, the next parliamentary elections in Romania should be held in 2028. Since the fall of communism in 1989, no early parliamentary elections have been held in the country.

The president opposes such a solution. In his opinion, early elections would not solve the problem, but would only prolong the political crisis.

A different opinion is held by the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which can count on over 35 percent in polls. support. The party supports early elections and has announced that it will block all candidates for prime minister.

In turn, the center-left Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD), which left Bolojan's coalition in spring, wants the future head of government to come from its ranks.