Romania: Parliament approves pro-EU government after months of deadlock

The Romanian Parliament approved the government of pro-European Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu on Tuesday, October 20, putting an end to several months of political impasse. The fourth candidate to seek the nomination since the fall of the previous coalition in May, the 55-year-old diplomat, supported by three pro-European parties, obtained 280 votes, well beyond the 233 necessary to be invested.

Without political affiliation, Luca Niculescu proposed a team made up of ministers from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the country's main party, as well as technocrats. “Romania needs a government with full powers after so many months of political crisis,” he declared in parliament on Tuesday.

“We live in an increasingly uncertain world. There is a war on Romania's borders, and the threats to European security are greater than a few years ago,” he added. The country has been plunged into political crisis since the collapse five months ago of a four-party pro-European coalition, led by liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.

Since then, the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party has been leading the polls with nearly 40% of voting intentions and calling for early elections. A prospect dismissed by centrist President Nicusor Dan, according to whom a new election would only have prolonged political instability while worsening the situation of public finances. He also ruled out any participation by the far right in government.

The head of state appointed Luca Niculescu earlier this month to form a government, believing that his diplomatic experience would give him the best chance of assembling a parliamentary majority. Current Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he supervises the process of Romania's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Luca Niculescu, previously held several diplomatic posts, notably in France.

A former journalist, he was editor-in-chief of Radio France Internationale (RFI) Romania and correspondent for several French media. A member of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Romania, which shares a border with Ukraine, has experienced strong political instability since the cancellation of the presidential election of December 2024, amid accusations of Russian interference.

Legislative elections held the same month resulted in a fragmented Parliament, with far-right parties winning around a third of the seats. In May 2026, the PSD left the ruling coalition following disagreements with Ilie Bolojan over budgetary policy and austerity measures. He then allied himself with the far right to pass a motion of censure which led to the fall of the government.

“We are voting for the possibility of changing a course of action that has caused great harm to Romanians and the economy,” PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu said on Tuesday. Although in opposition, the liberals also voted in favor of Luca Niculescu's government. “Romania needs a functioning government to avoid the collapse of certain public institutions and basic services,” Ilie Bolojan said over the weekend.

In addition to the PSD and the Liberals, Luca Niculescu benefited from the support of the Hungarian minority party, the UDMR. It remains to be seen how long this ad hoc cabinet will be able to last. The PSD has indicated that it will reassess the situation in six months, while the Liberals have for the moment committed to supporting it while the 2027 budget is adopted.

For political analyst Sergiu Miscoiu, tensions could quickly emerge between social democratic ministers and technocrats. “We risk seeing a new series of hostilities this spring,” he told AFP. “A lot of the prime minister will have to be a firefighter, putting out fires and trying to get things done in the current circumstances,” he added.