Acting President of Romania Ilie Bolojan on Tuesday appointed liberal Cătălin Marian Predoiu, who until now served as Minister of the Interior, to head the country’s government.
The decree signed by Bolojan states that Cătălin Marian Predoiu will serve as Prime Minister until a new government is formed. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced his resignation the day before.
“Instead of allowing the future president to replace me, I have decided to resign myself,” Ciolacu said.
The decision was made after the coalition candidate, Crin Antonescu, lost in the first round of the presidential election.
“In December, a coalition was formed with two goals: to have a stable government with a majority in parliament and to have a candidate from the coalition who would become president. One of the two did not work out, which means that the coalition in its current form is illegitimate,” Ciolacu explained his decision.
Marcel Ciolacu has headed the Romanian government since June 2023. After the parliamentary elections, he was reappointed prime minister, with his government including the pro-European Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. The coalition planned to prevent far-right political forces, whose ratings continue to rise, from coming to power.
According to the results of the first round of the presidential elections held on May 4, the leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, George Simion, received almost 41% of the vote. If he wins, he has promised to nominate Calin Georgescu, who shares his views, as prime minister. Independent candidate Nicușor Dăn, mayor of Bucharest, also made it through to the second round.
