BUCHAREST: Retired four-star general Nicolae Ciuca on Thursday received the greenlight from Romania’s parliament to lead a coalition government, ending a political crisis as the EU member fights a fourth Covid-19 wave.
Ciuca’s liberals and their former social democratic rivals reached an agreement on Sunday to form a coalition government, two months after liberal prime minister Florin Citu lost a no-confidence vote in parliament.
The Hungarian Minority Party (UDMR) is also a partner in the new coalition, which garnered 318 votes with 126 votes against. “We put aside our political differences... to end the tense situation that this country is going through,” Ciuca, a 54-year-old Afghanistan veteran, told lawmakers before the vote.
Ciuca’s liberals (PNL) and the Social Democrats (PSD), which shared power in 2012-14 before falling out, have agreed on an unprecedented “rotation” of prime ministers until legislative elections are held in December 2024.
Under the accord, Ciuca and his PSD counterpart Marcel Ciolacu will each serve an 18-month term.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.