In Romania, the new president is going around in circles
Elected in May on a pro-European platform against the far right, former Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan is struggling to find political allies and is unable to appoint a new prime minister. Amid a deep economic crisis, the Romanian press is angry.
Elected as head of Romania on May 18, Nicusor Dan can boast of having been the first independent candidate to become president, “a "an unprecedented feat in the history of our democracy," as the webzine HotNews.ro noted immediately after his victory . Candidate Dan had received 6.2 million votes in his favour in the second round (53.60%), compared to 5,339,053 (46.40%) for his rival George Simion , leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party.
But this victory, achieved by a small margin given his opponent's profile, places the new president in an uncomfortable situation, notes the Romanian press. "Upon taking office , " HotNews points out in another article , "the president must appoint a Prime Minister who will be responsible for securing a majority." Nicusor Dan, who took office on May 26, has not yet achieved this, despite negotiations with the various parties represented in Parliament.
This question is all the more pressing as Romania has been without a head of government since the two rounds of the presidential election. Marcel Ciolacu resigned on May 6 , after the elimination of the coalition government's sole candidate, Crin Antonescu, leaving a vacuum.
Courrier International
