Romania has often seen in recent years a power competition between the presidential and governmental institution. Such a split is not excluded in the current formula, given that the relationships between Ilie Bolojan and Nicușor Dan are already tense.
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According to the Constitution, the president is the one who designates premiers and appoints the Government, but with the trusted vote of the Parliament. Thus, often, the prime minister may not be the first option of the head of state, and the last years shows a series of opinion differences and misunderstandings between the leaders from Cotroceni and the Victoria Palace.
In the case of a constitutional legal conflict, it is solved by the RCC. In the case of wider opinion differences, the parliamentary majority of a government can easily pass the vote that starts the president’s dismissal procedures. History shows us, however, that the head of state is harder to dismiss. Its power is in the popular vote.
A remark of the first vice-president Ciprian Ciucu raises question marks on the possibilities in which Romania could see such scenarios again. Ciucu recently declared, at Digi 24, that he would like President Nicușor Dan “to be with his government”, especially since he used by the “image and the person” of Ilie Bolojan in the race for the Cotroceni Palace.
What does the power balance between the president and the prime minister look like
Currently, officially, the two are forced to collaborate, but political sources say that relationships are already tense.
“There has always been a conflict between the president and the prime minister because each one thought he had more power than the other. They tried to influence things in this way.”explains the teacher in law Radu Carp. Such a power game has many traps in the Constitution, because “Romania is part of the category of countries that have chosen this formula, a bicephal executive. He has two practical heads, president and prime minister. And between the president and the prime minister there are brakes and counterweights, that is, they can control each other. From here the democratic game comes out because the president can counteract the prime minister and vice versa ”.
A conflict between the two institutions can be instantly generated by “political nature”, explains Radu Carp: “If the president is part of a party and the prime minister in another party, it is inevitable. If the two belong to the same party, the chances fall, but that does not mean they are close to zero. It means they are smaller. It also depends on the way the party sees the problem of the relationship between the president and the prime minister. There are many political factors ”.
Factors that could trigger a conflict between president and prime minister
“The cohabitation is, we could say, in the nature of the Romanian political system”stresses the politicalologist Cristian Pârvulescu, noting in the current context an increase of the tensions between Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and President Nicușor Dan. The scenario is suggested by the Liberal Mayor Ciprian Ciucu, who asks for the president’s support. “The president is an arbitrator. Is not a <
The current collaboration between the president and the head of state could consider a possible PNL-USR merger, the creation of a large right-hand party, an obsession with the right leaders of the last 20 years, which could start from the idea of a unique candida in Bucharest. The conflict could only be generated by the resignation of the current prime minister, the political scientist Cristian Pârvulescu believes: “With the support of the Parliament, the Prime Minister, who can go until the president’s dismissal, can come out winning. ”
But the president is “A little more stable than the Government. It does not depend on any majority. It can be in cohabitation. And it is a risky procedure to dismantle it.”also emphasizes the politicalologist Cristian Pârvulescu.
The political scientist points out that, at present, the Romanian society is fragmented, increasing the risks in the case of such an approach: “Something new, powerful, which creates many difficulties. It is called gold, Romanian fascism. If we continue to play politics, we will bear the consequences. (…) If the Parliament can mobilize the vote and suspend it, then it is rather a simple procedure. It is very risky, if the president is unpopular, those who voted against Nicușor were more than 40%. If you mobilize them to vote, you can get the result ”.
Settlement of conflicts in recent years
CCR notification
Over the years, Romania has had several situations in which the Directorate of the Cotroceni Palace did not suit the one at the Victoria Palace. Some reasons for misunderstanding arrived on the CCR table. In 2014, the constitutional judges were notified both regarding the misunderstanding between the former prime minister Victor Ponta and the former president Traian Basescu regarding the representation of the Romanian state at the European Council, as well as the delay in the appointment of some ministers.
In 2022, President Klaus Iohannis notified the CCR for a possible constitutional legal conflict between the prime minister and the president, after the head of the Government at that time, Viorica Dăncilă, temporarily transferred the duties of the deputy prime minister Paul Stanescu during the leave, without announcing the president. The CCR decided that there was no such legal conflict at that time. And the revocation of Laura Codruța Kovesi from DNA was the subject of such a notification filed that year.
Triggering the president’s dismissal procedures
In some cases, misunderstandings brought the president’s suspension. It is the example of former President Traian Basescu, who went through two referendums for dismissal, being suspended twice. Once in 2007 and once in 2012. Both attempts ended with the restoration of Traian Basescu in office.
A similar action also tried gold at the forefront of the sovereign parties that collected in January 2025 the required number of signatures to trigger the dismissal procedures, ie at least one third of the number of deputies and senators. According to the Constitution, in the case of serious acts by which the provisions of the Constitution violate, the President of Romania can be suspended from a joint meeting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, with the vote of the majority, and in 30 days a referendum will be organized.
Gold announced since 2021 that it was collecting signatures for the dismissal of the president, but the approach was just an image exercise at that time. At the beginning of 2025, the opposition parliamentarians were closest to such a result, but Klaus Iohannis resigned shortly before the mandate is completed.
The quorum needed for a dismissal was 50% in 2012, but is currently decreased to 30%.
