Romania: Three Names Outside The Parliamentary Political Groups Are In Consideration For Prime Ministerial Seat.

Bucharest; May 2026: Three weeks after the adoption of the motion of censure that led to the fall of the Bologna Government, the equation for forming a new Executive seems to be reduced to three names. The main hypothesis taken into account concerns people from outside the major political groups. Discussions about a list of three people, only people from outside any political fraternity; everything is in its evolutionary stage, no line has been drawn, asserts Romania’s Parliament in a press release.

However, the main obstacle to overcome in this new working hypothesis is that of political support. Many discussions are taking place, it is difficult to estimate whether they will be concluded this week. The degree of parliamentary support for each proposed option is being checked. Compared to last week, there is progress, as per Parliamentary update.

The main names those who are being considered for the position of Prime Minister are:

• Presidential Advisor Radu Burnete;

• EP Eugen Tomac, an advisor at Cotroceni (Romanian Parliament) alongside the President of the Popular Movement Party (PMP);

• Delia Velculescu, head of the International Monetary Fund mission in South Africa, also invoked in the formation of the previous Government;

• Şerban Matei, currently director of the International Relations Department of the National Bank of Romania.

Senate President Mircea Abrudean said yesterday (Tuesday – 26th May) that the nomination of MEP Eugen Tomac for the position of prime minister is speculation. He noted that the PNL’s decision is clear at this point to go into opposition and has nothing to do with a government that includes the PSD, but it depends a lot on the priorities of the new executive.

“It is normal for there to be both formal and informal discussions, it is important to have a political formula as soon as possible, because Romania cannot afford to let time pass and not have a responsible solution, in the end. And this is not about the names of Prime Ministers that keep appearing in the public space, we have seen, it is about having a solution that offers responsibility, stability and predictability. That is what it is about. As many consultations as are necessary to get here, as many will have to be done. It is important to have this solution for Romania, as soon as possible, because every day of delay costs us a lot, financially”, Mircea Abrudean also said at the Senate.

The Senate President stated regarding the consultations at the Cotroceni Palace and the nomination of a Prime Minister that the PNL position cannot change regarding the refusal to be part of a government with the PSD. Regarding a nomination of MEP Eugen Tomac for the position of prime minister, Mircea Abrudean emphasised that it is a speculation.

“It’s speculation. When we have a designation from the President, all parties will certainly take a position and the PNL will be as clear as possible in communication at that time. Let’s wait for that moment. The PNL decision is clear, at this moment, to go into opposition. So, there are all kinds of possibilities, what is important is what a government proposes. We have clearly said that we have no connection with a government that includes the PSD, but it depends a lot on the priorities that this new government establishes. The priorities must be clear for Romania and are very much related to what has been discussed a lot in the recent period by the PNRR, which is the zero emergency for Romania, by SAFE, by the OECD and by all the other reforms started by the former coalition and which will have to be continued, in one way or another, by the future government”, he added.

The President of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, said yesterday (Tuesday, 26th) regarding a possible nomination of MEP Eugen Tomac for the position of Prime Minister, “Eugen Tomac is a well-known political personality. We know each other, as if we were both banned from Ukraine at some point for supporting the rights of Romanians and the Hungarian community in Ukraine. So, I know Eugen Tomac very well, but from here until we say how we will vote, of course, the road is long, because we don’t know, the discussions haven’t started”, said the UDMR leader in Parliament, when asked about a nomination of the president’s honorary advisor, Eugen Tomac, for the position of Prime Minister.

He indicated that the first nomination for prime minister must be awaited. “Let’s wait for the first nomination, I said what I had to say about a single-party PSD government, nothing has changed, our participation in a minority government, without transparent and predictable support in Parliament, is unlikely. So, until we have a nomination and an attempt to form a government… I wouldn’t bother with the second attempt, because I understood from the discussions so far that the first option should pass, that’s the intention”.

Kelemen Hunor mentioned that “a technocratic government would have the next problem the next day, namely that everyone would be in opposition, and from here things would get complicated. A political government must have political support and a political majority, so a transparent majority cannot be formed from PSD with UDMR. It can be done with USR, it can be done with PNL, many variants can be discussed, including with Eugen Tomac at the head of the government, political variants, but a technocratic government, the next day will be left alone and everyone will be in opposition. That’s what happened last time and who benefited from such a situation, then PSD, now AUR will benefit from a technocratic government”.

According to the UDMR president, the government must be invested. “We are waiting for the nomination and the discussions, if the designated prime minister wants to discuss with us. We don’t know if he wants to either, maybe he already has a formula in his head, even a negotiated formula. So we have to be calm, we have to be patient. I don’t have any information at this moment more than what I’ve read in the press”.

According to the UDMR leader, “you must find a political formula based on parliamentary arithmetic if you want support and accountability of political parties for the act of governing. It is this connection between the government and the political parties. It no longer matters which political party we are talking about, because otherwise, there is no direct responsibility on the part of the parliamentarians, as was the case with Cioloş, when he was prime minister for a year. The next day everyone will be in opposition. Some more brutal, tougher, others punctual, but the same government will not even have the possibility to make it to October”.

Team Maverick.