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Nicolae Ciucă: Romania's new Prime Minister
Photo: Andreea Alexandru / AP
After the Romanian head of government was overthrown by a vote of no confidence, there was initially no clear majority in favor of a successor.
Defense Minister Nicolae Ciucă is now set to become the new Prime Minister.
On Thursday, President Klaus Iohannis proposed the 54-year-old ex-chief of staff and politician of the ruling bourgeois party PNL to parliament for the office of prime minister.
It was initially unclear which parties would support Ciucă in parliament.
Collapse of the coalition between PNL and USR
Ciucă made a name for himself in particular from 2001 to 2004 as the commander of the Romanian missions in Afghanistan and Iraq alongside the US armed forces.
He has long been the favorite of President Iohannis.
Romania has been in a serious leadership crisis since the collapse of the coalition between PNL and the small eco-liberal party USR.
On Wednesday, an attempt by USR chairman Dacian Cioloş to get a majority in parliament for a government he led failed.
It will soon be decided whether Ciucă aims to restore the coalition with USR or at least seek parliamentary support from the social democratic opposition party PSD.
PNL is also allied with the Hungarian party UDMR, but this is not enough for a majority in parliament.
At the moment, Prime Minister Florin Citu of the PNL is provisionally governing Romania with limited powers.
This causes concern in view of the dramatic corona emergency in the country.
Two weeks ago, Parliament expressed its distrust in Citu.
muk / dpa
