President Nicușor Dan will organize the first round of consultations with the parliamentary parties on Monday at the Cotroceni Palace to find a solution for the prime minister.
For now, no party can muster a parliamentary majority to install a new government, but each party has set its strategy for the meeting with the head of state.
PSD
The Social-Democrats will not propose any name for prime minister, political sources claim for Adevărul. The PSD leadership will ask President Nicușor Dan to restore the coalition with PNL, USR and UDMR, but without Ilie Bolojan. If the president fails to convince the liberals to return to power alongside the PSD, the social democrats will support the appointment of a technocrat prime minister to lead a government made up of the PSD, the UDMR and the national minorities. PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu does not want the position of prime minister, claim the cited sources.
PNL
The liberals will propose the formation of a minority government alongside USR and UDMR, with Ilie Bolojan as prime minister. In this sense, President Nicușor Dan should convince the PSD to vote for a new government led by Bolojan, and then move into the opposition. The scenario is illusory. The PSD would not vote for a new Executive led by Bolojan after they had barely removed him from the Victoria Palace. Secondly, there is also a decision of the CCR from the period of the pandemic that prohibits the appointment of a newly overthrown prime minister through a motion of censure. The reason? When proposing a prime minister, the head of state must start from the premise that he can gather a parliamentary majority. Otherwise, CCR considers it just a proposal that forces early elections. Therefore, Nicușor Dan will not nominate Ilie Bolojan.
USR
The party led by Dominic Fritz will ask the president to first nominate Sorin Grindeanu as prime minister, to force a PSD-AUR government, the parties that have allied to oust Bolojan. If Sorin Grindeanu does not get a majority, USR would propose the nomination of Ilie Bolojan. At this point, MPs would either vote to install Bolojan or risk losing their mandate by dissolving Parliament and holding early elections. Unlike President Nicușor Dan, USR would prefer early elections to the detriment of a technocrat prime minister. In conclusion, USR will not come up with a proposal for a prime minister from within the party. USE’s aim is to create a reformist pole alongside Bolojan either in power or in opposition.
UDMR
Like the PSD, the Hungarian party also wants to restore the coalition, but with another liberal prime minister. However, the UDMR leaders are also open to accepting a political government led by a technocrat prime minister. The UDMR leadership will not go with a proposal for prime minister at the Cotroceni Palace, but will establish a red line: avoiding early elections. A parliamentary election held now could leave the UDMR out of Parliament.
GOLD
The party led by George Simion publicly proposed the dissolution of Parliament and the organization of early elections, a scenario categorically rejected by President Nicușor Dan. If the Romanians were called to the polls again, AUR could get 50% of the votes by itself, which would oblige the head of state to appoint the prime minister proposed by the sovereignists. As a formal proposal for prime minister, AUR will go to Cotroceni with the Călin Georgescu option, but the chances of the former presidential candidate taking over the leadership of the government are zero.
Consultations will take place on Monday, May 18, 2026, according to the following schedule:
- 09:00 – Social Democratic Party (PSD);
- 10:00 am – Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR);
- 11:00 a.m. – National Liberal Party (PNL);
- 12:00 – Union Save Romania (USR);
- 13:00 – Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR);
- 14:00 – Parliamentary Group of National Minorities;
- 15:00 – SOS Romania Party (SOS);
- 16:00 – Young People’s Party (POT).
Almost two weeks after the dismissal of the Bolojan Government through a motion of censure, the negotiations for the formation of a new majority entered the straight line. On Monday, President Nicușor Dan called the parties to consultations for the appointment of a new prime minister. While the scenario of a technocrat prime minister is gaining ground, political scientist George Jiglău, professor at Babeș-Bolyai University, warns, in an analysis for “Adevărul”, that the real problem is not the name of the future prime minister, but the existence of a parliamentary majority capable of supporting a government in an increasingly fragile political and economic context.
