Romanian PM: Presidential Election Threatens Political Upheaval

Marcel Ciolacu said his government’s performance could be hampered if the presidential candidate favored by the coalition failed to win the May elections, adding to the country’s political instability. He said this in comments to Bloomberg News, reports European pravda. The authorities’ decision this month to bar far-right leader Calin Georgescu from running in May’s elections has changed the race. But Georgescu’s absence has so far failed to boost the chances of the coalition’s proposed government candidate, former National Liberal Party leader Crin Antonescu. The defeat of Antonescu, who is backed by Ciolacu’s Social Democrats, the Liberals and a party of ethnic Hungarians, would be a serious blow to the government, the prime minister said. “I see no reason to change the coalition if our common candidate wins,” Ciolacu said Tuesday in response to a Bloomberg News query. “But otherwise, I don’t think we can move forward in the same way,” he added. However, Ciolacu did not say whether his government coalition would disintegrate. Reshuffles in the coalition could also lead to the resignation of the prime minister or the formation of a minority government. Ciprian Ciucu, deputy leader of the Liberals, said political change after the May election is “inevitable”. “There are all options available right now,” Ciucu said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday. “We are all working now to boost Antonescu’s rating - and we have not discussed potential options after the election. But we cannot ignore the fact that we are facing very high uncertainty,” he said. In December 2024, Romania’s Constitutional Court cancelled the first round of the presidential election, citing evidence of Russian interference. The winner of that round of elections, anti-Western politician and supporter of conspiracy theories Calin Georgescu, was barred from running for re-election as president.