In a recent development, Romania's leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) has decided to withdraw from negotiations to form a pro-European coalition government. This decision has further exacerbated the political turmoil in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election by the top court.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the PSD, which emerged as the party with the most votes in the parliamentary election held on December 1, announced the party's decision to step back from negotiations with three traditional parties. Ciolacu stated that the PSD would now support a right-wing government in Parliament to address the pressing issues facing the country until the upcoming presidential elections.
Initially, the PSD had reached an agreement to form a majority coalition with the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL), the reformist Save Romania Union party (USR), and the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party. This coalition aimed to exclude far-right nationalists who had made significant gains in the parliamentary election. However, with the PSD's withdrawal, the remaining three parties do not have enough seats to establish a majority government.
The political upheaval in Romania began with the presidential election, where a far-right outsider's unexpected success led to allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference. The Constitutional Court's decision to annul the presidential race just days before the runoff added to the uncertainty.
President Klaus Iohannis, whose second term was nearing its end, announced that a new date for the rerun of the presidential election would be scheduled once a new government assumes office. The current situation has been described as a 'crisis within a crisis' by political consultant Cristian Andrei, who attributes the PSD's withdrawal to the challenging economic decisions required to address Romania's significant budget deficit.
Andrei highlighted that none of the parties in the potential coalition are eager to be part of a government that may need to implement austerity measures such as freezing pensions and public wages. This internal crisis within the coalition could lead to further discontent among voters and potentially impact the chances of a pro-European candidate in the upcoming presidential election rerun.
