Prospects for the centre-left government in Romania

On 4 January 2017, the Romanian Parliament gave a vote of confidence to the centre-left cabinet of Sorin Grindeanu. The new government is made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the clear winner of December’s parliamentary elections, and the centrist Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE). The Social Democrats’ domination of the political scene and the weakness of the crisis-stricken opposition gives the new coalition a good chance of four years’ stable rule. The de facto leader of the ruling camp, however, is not the Prime Minister, but Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the Social Democrats and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. The coalition’s main political adversary is President Klaus Iohannis, who is linked to the centre-right opposition camp.

The main sources of tension will be the government’s expansionary fiscal economic policy and the ruling coalition’s likely attempts to undermine anti-corruption policy. There is no fundamental difference of views between the President and the government in foreign and security policy, but rivalry and disagreements in this area cannot be ruled out either. Bucharest’s priority will remain the consolidation of trans-Atlantic relations, a strong commitment to NATO, and close cooperation with key European states.

ESO: Background information: The Social Democrats’ triumph in Romania http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-social-democrats-triumph-in-romania/

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