FILE - Romanian Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu speaks to the media at the European Council building in Brussels, Dec 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)
FILE - A Romanian policeman holds effigies made of brooms of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, right, and Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu, left, during a protest in Bucharest, Romania, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
Romania appoints an interim prime minister after the coalition’s defeat in the presidential race
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) 鈥 Romania鈥檚 interim president appointed a new prime minister on Tuesday, a day after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition鈥檚 candidate to make the runoff in a rerun of the presidential election.
FILE - Romanian Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu speaks to the media at the European Council building in Brussels, Dec 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) 鈥 Romania鈥檚 interim president appointed a new prime minister on Tuesday, a day after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition鈥檚 candidate to make the runoff in a rerun of the presidential election.
Ilie Bolojan signed a decree to appoint the serving interior minister, Catalin Predoiu of the National Liberal Party, to take the helm of the government until a new one can be formed. The interim post can be held for a maximum of 45 days, during which they have limited executive powers.
The shake-up comes after the coalition鈥檚 candidate, Crin Antonescu, came third in Sunday鈥檚 first round presidential vote, far behind the top finisher, , and pro-Western reformist Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan.
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After Predoiu took office on Tuesday, the 56-year-old veteran politician said that Romania “must remain a resilient democracy, a country whose development objectives remain anchored in Euro-Atlantic values.鈥
Romania held the rerun months after a top court annulled the previous race, following allegations of , which Moscow has denied. The unprecedented decision plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.
Sunday鈥檚 vote underscored strong anti-establishment sentiment among voters, and signaled a power shift away from traditional mainstream parties. It also renewed the political uncertainty that has gripped the European Union and NATO member country.
Ciolacu, who came third in last year鈥檚 voided presidential race, told reporters Monday outside the headquarters of his Social Democratic Party, or PSD, 鈥淩ather than let the future president replace me, I decided to resign myself.鈥
He added that one aim of last December 鈥 after the failed election 鈥 was to field a common candidate to win the presidency. After Sunday鈥檚 result, he said that the coalition now 鈥渓acks any credibility.鈥 It is made up of the leftist PSD, the center-right National Liberal Party, the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities.
Sunday鈥檚 vote was the second time in Romania鈥檚 post-communist history, including the voided election cycle, that the PSD party didn’t have a candidate in the second round of a presidential race.
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As in many EU countries, anti-establishment in Romania, fueled by high inflation, a large budget deficit and a sluggish economy. Observers say the malaise has bolstered support for nationalist and far-right figures like Calin Georgescu, who won the first round in the canceled presidential election. He is from the rerun.
Simion, the 38-year-old front-runner in Sunday鈥檚 vote and the leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, will face Dan in a runoff on May 18 that could reshape the country鈥檚 geopolitical direction.
In 2019, Simion founded the AUR party, which rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election by proclaiming to stand for 鈥渇amily, nation, faith and freedom.鈥 It has since become Romania鈥檚 second-largest party in the legislature.
Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party in 2016, ran on a pro-EU platform. He told the media early Monday that 鈥渁 difficult second round lies ahead, against an isolationist candidate.鈥
