Latest news with #PNL
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Romania names interim premier as turmoil deepens
Bucharest: 's liberal interior minister Catalin Predoiu became interim premier on Tuesday, a day after the prime minister's resignation deepened political tumult in the EU nation. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Pro-EU Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stepped down on Monday after far-right leader George Simion topped the first round of a tense presidential vote rerun. His resignation opens the way for the far-right to be part of government if EU critic Simion wins the May 18 run-off and becomes president. The president in Romania appoints the premier and other key posts and represents the country at EU and NATO summits. The eastern European nation has gained in strategic importance since Russia invaded Ukraine, neighbouring Romania, with the presidential rerun closely watched in Brussels and Washington. Ciolacu said his Social Democrats (PSD) party would leave the ruling coalition but they are expected to remain in the government on an interim basis until after the election run-off. 'Strategic mistake' "We are in the most complicated situation Romania has ever been in" since the end of communism in 1989, political analyst Sergiu Miscoiu told AFP. Ciolacu's resignation is a "gift to the future president" and "an act of political irresponsibility", he added. "It is a strategic mistake because it gives all the power to the next president" who will have "an extremely wide margin of manoeuvre", Miscoiu said. In the second round, Simion, who leads the nationalist AUR party, faces Bucharest pro-EU mayor Nicusor Dan, who narrowly edged out the ruling coalition's candidate on Sunday. The coalition also includes the liberals (PNL), with Predoiu holding the interior ministry. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Predoiu told reporters on Monday that ministers of the liberals would continue to carry out their duties as long as they are in office. Predoiu, 56, is a former justice minister who already served as interim premier in 2012. Predoiu, who practised as a lawyer in the past, is also the current interim president of the liberals (PNL). Closely watched rerun The chances of Simion , who gained almost 41 percent of votes, double the score of his rival Dan , to win have increased due to the political turmoil, according to analysts. Only a "very important mobilisation" of people who did not vote in the first round, including many 18-to-35-year-olds, could change the outcome, Miscoiu said. Voter turnout for the first round was 53 percent. As the country, one of the poorest in the EU, struggles with the bloc's highest deficit, a far-right victory in the second round could also mark a shift in the country's foreign policy. Campaigning on a vow to put Romania first, Simion, a fan of US President Donald Trump, has criticised "Brussels' unelected bureaucrats", accusing them of having meddled in the Romanian elections. In December, Romania's constitutional court in a shock move scrapped the presidential ballot after far-right politician Calin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round. The annulment followed allegations of Russian interference and a massive TikTok campaign that emerged in favour of Georgescu, who has been barred from the rerun. Thousands have protested the cancellation and subsequent barring of Georgescu, with Simion calling the annulment "a coup d'etat".
Euronews
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Romanian prime minister resigns amid ruling coalition's post-presidential election fallout
ADVERTISEMENT Marcel Ciolacu resigned as Romanian prime minister on Monday, a day after the ruling big tent coalition candidate Crin Antonescu failed to secure a spot in the presidential election runoff. Ciolacu already offered his resignation last December after not qualifying for the second round of the embattled, cancelled elections, which saw ultranationalist candidate Calin Georgescu come from nowhere to win the first round. On Sunday, the big tent coalition — which included Ciolacu's centre-left PSD, liberal party PNL and the Hungarian minority party UDMR/RMDSZ — failed to inspire Romanians to back Antonescu in the first round of the presidential vote repeat after the unprecedented scandal of the annulled elections in December, caused significant upheaval within the bloc. The PSD's current crop of ministers has decided to leave the government together with Ciolacu, following accusations that they did not do enough to help Antonescu secure the top position. By Sunday night, the liberals had already blamed the PSD for not doing enough to mobilise their voters across the country, especially in rural areas, to throw their weight behind Antonescu. According to Euronews Romania sources, PNL asked the sitting prime minister to resign in favour of interim President Ilie Bolojan, further fracturing the alliance. Related Simion's Romanian presidential election win sets stage for runoff thriller Nearly 40% of Romanian voters remain undecided ahead of presidential election While the PSD ministers will stay in office in the interim period of 45 days, Bolojan will now have to nominate a new prime minister, which will have to get the approval of the Romanian parliament. On Sunday evening, nationalist candidate George Simion won the first round of Romania's presidential election with some 40.5% of the vote. In a late-night political thriller, the official count saw the outsider independent candidate Nicușor Dan come into second place and the run-off, knocking Antonescu out of the race — a result shocking the traditional political establishment in the EU and NATO member state. Pre-election polls all favoured Simion to win the first round. However, the result by Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, sent a clear message to the ruling coalition, which rallied behind Antonescu as the main party's candidate. On Monday, PSD decided not to back either of the two candidates in the runoff. Meanwhile, PNL announced it voted unanimously to support Dan in the vote, which was set to be held in two weeks' time.
RTÉ News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Romania names interim premier as turmoil deepens
Romania's liberal interior minister Catalin Predoiu has become interim premier, the presidency announced, a day after the prime minister's resignation deepened political tumult in the EU nation. Romania's pro-EU Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stepped down yesterday after a far-right candidate topped the first round of a tense presidential vote rerun. Far-right EU critic George Simion topped Sunday's election first round, while the ruling coalition's candidate narrowly lost out to Bucharest's mayor for the second spot. Mr Ciolacu's resignation comes just two weeks ahead of the presidential vote runoff on 18 May in the EU and NATO member, which has gained in strategic importance since Russia invaded Ukraine, neighbouring Romania. Mr Ciolacu said his Social Democrats (PSD) party would leave the ruling coalition but they are expected to remain in the government on an interim basis until after the election run-off. Mr Predoiu, 56, is a former justice minister who already served as interim premier in 2012. Mr Predoiu, who practiced as a lawyer in the past, is also the current interim president of the liberals (PNL). He told reporters yesterday that the liberals have "sworn-in ministers in the government, they will carry out their duties". "As long as these mandates are in office, the PNL does its duty," he said. Closely watched rerun In Sunday's first round, Mr Simion, who leads the nationalist AUR party, gained almost 41% of votes, double the score of the pro-EU Mayor Nicusor Dan, an independent. A far-right victory in the second round - closely watched by Brussels and Washington - could mark a shift in the country's foreign policy. The president represents Romania at EU and NATO summits and can veto EU votes. He also appoints the premier and other government posts. Campaigning on a vow to put Romania first, Mr Simion, a fan of US President Donald Trump, has criticised "Brussels' unelected bureaucrats", accusing them of having meddled in the Romanian elections. In December, Romania's constitutional court in a shock move scrapped the presidential ballot after far-right politician Calin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round. The annulment followed allegations of Russian interference and a massive TikTok campaign that emerged in favour of Mr Georgescu. Mr Simion has called the annulment "a coup d'etat". Mr Georgescu was barred from the rerun but two major far-right parties decided to back Mr Simion instead.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Romania names interim premier as turmoil deepens
Romania's liberal interior minister Catalin Predoiu became interim premier on Tuesday, the presidency announced, a day after the prime minister's resignation deepened political tumult in the EU nation. Romania's pro-EU Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stepped down on Monday after a far-right candidate topped the first round of a tense presidential vote rerun. Far-right EU critic George Simion topped Sunday's election first round, while the ruling coalition's candidate narrowly lost out to Bucharest's mayor for the second spot. Ciolacu's resignation comes just two weeks ahead of the presidential vote runoff on May 18 in the EU and NATO member, which has gained in strategic importance since Russia invaded Ukraine, neighbouring Romania. Ciolacu said his Social Democrats (PSD) party would leave the ruling coalition but they are expected to remain in the government on an interim basis until after the election run-off. Predoiu, 56, is a former justice minister who already served as interim premier in 2012. Predoiu, who practiced as a lawyer in the past, is also the current interim president of the liberals (PNL). Predoiu told reporters on Monday that the liberals have "sworn-in ministers in the government, they will carry out their duties". "As long as these mandates are in office, the PNL does its duty," he said. - Closely watched rerun - In Sunday's first round, Simion, who leads the nationalist AUR party, gained almost 41 percent of votes, double the score of the pro-EU Mayor Nicusor Dan, an independent. A far-right victory in the second round -- closely watched by Brussels and Washington -- could mark a shift in the country's foreign policy. The president represents Romania at EU and NATO summits and can veto EU votes. He also appoints the premier and other government posts. Campaigning on a vow to put Romania first, Simion, a fan of US President Donald Trump, has criticised "Brussels' unelected bureaucrats", accusing them of having meddled in the Romanian elections. In December, Romania's constitutional court in a shock move scrapped the presidential ballot after far-right politician Calin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round. The annulment followed allegations of Russian interference and a massive TikTok campaign that emerged in favour of Georgescu. Simion has called the annulment "a coup d'etat". Georgescu was barred from the rerun but two major far-right parties decided to back Simion instead. ani-bg/jza/jm
France 24
06-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Romania names interim premier as turmoil deepens
Romania's pro-EU Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stepped down on Monday after a far-right candidate topped the first round of a tense presidential vote rerun. Far-right EU critic George Simion topped Sunday's election first round, while the ruling coalition's candidate narrowly lost out to Bucharest's mayor for the second spot. Ciolacu's resignation comes just two weeks ahead of the presidential vote runoff on May 18 in the EU and NATO member, which has gained in strategic importance since Russia invaded Ukraine, neighbouring Romania. Ciolacu said his Social Democrats (PSD) party would leave the ruling coalition but they are expected to remain in the government on an interim basis until after the election run-off. Predoiu, 56, is a former justice minister who already served as interim premier in 2012. Predoiu, who practiced as a lawyer in the past, is also the current interim president of the liberals (PNL). Predoiu told reporters on Monday that the liberals have "sworn-in ministers in the government, they will carry out their duties". "As long as these mandates are in office, the PNL does its duty," he said. Closely watched rerun In Sunday's first round, Simion, who leads the nationalist AUR party, gained almost 41 percent of votes, double the score of the pro-EU Mayor Nicusor Dan, an independent. A far-right victory in the second round -- closely watched by Brussels and Washington -- could mark a shift in the country's foreign policy. The president represents Romania at EU and NATO summits and can veto EU votes. He also appoints the premier and other government posts. Campaigning on a vow to put Romania first, Simion, a fan of US President Donald Trump, has criticised "Brussels' unelected bureaucrats", accusing them of having meddled in the Romanian elections. In December, Romania's constitutional court in a shock move scrapped the presidential ballot after far-right politician Calin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round. The annulment followed allegations of Russian interference and a massive TikTok campaign that emerged in favour of Georgescu. Simion has called the annulment "a coup d'etat". Georgescu was barred from the rerun but two major far-right parties decided to back Simion instead.
