Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke met on Wednesday with liberals in Prague, to whom he informed that the PNL government will try to take control of the transport ministry, currently headed by PSD’s Sorin Grindeanu, to unlock infrastructure projects, liberal sources told HotNews.ro.

The statement was made in the context of the fact that the PSD does not want to give up transport at the moment, although this is stipulated in the protocol signed by the PNL and the PSD during the formation of the current coalition.

• “We want the seizure of the Ministry of Transport by a member of the PNL to give a new impetus to the construction of infrastructure in Romania.
• Romania should become a big construction site, not a place for politicians who look at public opinion polls,” the prime minister would have said, according to quoted sources.

Chuke would ask the liberals to work more and worry less about elections: “2023 for the PNL is a year of work, not pre-election debates. We will work on adapting the program of the Coalition government, not on a new program.”

He also informed those present at the meeting that “Prahova is a good example for other countries in attracting investments.”

Since the first days of January, PSD President Marcel Çolaku and PSD Secretary General Paul Stanescu have publicly spoken about the government’s ring road and the need to keep current ministers in their portfolios.

• Marcel Cholaku: “If we find a better formula within the coalition, we will come up with it. If not, we follow the protocol (…) In my opinion, it is a mistake to change Bolosh (European Funds Minister Marcel Bolosh) now (…) There is also a performance in the Ministry of Justice, we eliminated MCV (…) Grindean’s performance in transport cannot be challenged even by its greatest enemy.” (Romanian TV)
• Paul Stenescu: “Back to the present, the discussions about keeping or re-discussing the leadership of the ministries in the framework of management rotation should happen for a very simple reason: we want to manage effectively. In this sense, there is also a principle in sports: do not change the players who perform. We do not need the episodes of political chaos that existed before the SDP came to power. (News.ro)

Discussions on the postponement of the “rotation”

In mid-February, official sources told HotNews.ro that the rotation of prime ministers may be delayed until the fall due to the worsening security situation in the region. Discussions would take place in a narrow circle at the level of first-echelon leaders without making any decisions on this matter.

Also, according to some PSD sources, Marcel Čolaku was to convey to the Social Democratic leaders at the Permanent Bureau meeting that there are problems with the third tranche of payment from the PNRR and if the money is delayed, he does not want to serve as prime minister.

Another problem that Cholaku reported to the leaders at the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada is also related to one of the milestones of the PNRR, namely the blocking of the law on special pensions. More specifically, the calculation of military and police pensions is not agreed between the PSD and the PNL, and Minister Marius Budai has not been able to determine the necessary support to pass the bill in parliament.

On February 20, Cholaku and Cuke agreed to suspend discussions and negotiations regarding the rotation, sources on both sides told HotNews.ro. In addition, behind closed doors, Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke would tell the Liberals at an executive office meeting that in the next period they should avoid attacking the PSD and focus on the government’s goals.

“The first in Romanian politics”

However, both Marcel Cholaku and Nicolae Chuke officially stated that the “rotation” will take place at the agreed time.

• “First of all, I don’t respond to anything unofficial. PSD and PNL have a political agreement, which we respect and fulfill.
• I think that in 30 years politicians have reached the political maturity to respect certain agreements. This is out of the question. Otherwise, we do no more rotation.
• We don’t even fight, we don’t bargain. I had this discussion with the Prime Minister in order to have a responsible approach to the functioning of the Government and the Parliament,” said Marcel Čolaku.

On another occasion, Marcel Cholaku expressed his belief that the “rotation” would take place without “any scandal” and the process would be quick, noting that he was preparing for the post of prime minister.

He said he was in regular contact with Prime Minister Nicolae Cucée, the leader of the PNL, and that it was “a first in Romanian politics that has never happened between the two leaders of Romania’s biggest parties.”

• “I definitely believe that the rotation will happen. There will be no scandal.
• Protocol will be followed and all things will be decided some time before and everything will be very normal and very easy.
• I firmly believe that the president will also make an appointment that will come from the PSD. At the moment, I am this appointment and I want this coalition to last until the end of 2024,” Çolaku said on the air of the Prima News station on February 12, according to Agerpres.

The PSD leader said that the rotation could be completed by June 1, and praised the coalition with the PNL, which “brought stability to Romania”:

• “I have never seen Prime Minister Nikolay Chuke’s statement that this agreement will not be implemented. (…) Everything can be done by June 1. (…)
• This is the period when we have to appear on television to explain some things to Romanians. (…) I have no private conversations with the President of Romania. We had only institutional discussions. We don’t have a strained relationship. (…) Now Romania definitely needs political stability. It is a big mistake to enter the zone of political instability.”

“I think that together with Chuke we can create a coalition from 2024, if not an alliance”

He also reported that he periodically meets and talks on the phone with Prime Minister Nikolae Chuke:

• “I see Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke regularly (…) and we talk by phone very often. The first in Romanian politics. (…)
• We are trying to coordinate our executive and legislative activities, which has never happened between the two leaders of the biggest parties in Romania. (…)
• There was never any discussion between me and Mr. Nicolae Chuke that this rotation would not happen. On the contrary, the discussion was that in Romania the time has finally come for the two political leaders to respect the agreements they signed. You will see that it will be so. From my point of view, it will be a quick rotation, in a very short time.”

He also revealed that he is preparing for the position of prime minister and wants Mihai Tudose in the future government.

According to the president of the PSD, the political “solution” even after 2024 can be a PSD-PNL coalition:

• “I don’t hide it from you and never have hidden it. I think the solution through and beyond 2024 is still a broad coalition between the two parties. (…) I believe that together with Mr. Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke, we can create a coalition in the future and from 2024, if not an alliance.”

What does the rotation system established by the PNL-PSD provide for when taking office in the government

The political agreement on the creation of the “National Coalition for Romania”, signed by the leaders of the PSD, PNL and UDMR in November 2021, after the formation of the current ruling coalition, provides that Nicolae Cuke will have a mandate until May 25, 2023, from which he will be appointed prime minister. PSD minister until the 2024 general elections.

The document also stipulates the conditions under which the rotation system between PNL and PSD will work – when the prime minister is changed, the following representatives in the government will also be replaced:

• The Deputy Prime Minister from the PSD will be replaced by the Deputy Prime Minister from the PNL;
• The Minister of Transport from the PSD will be replaced by a candidate for this portfolio from the PNL, and the PSD will take over the Ministry of Investments and European Projects;
• The Minister of Public Finance from the PSD will be replaced by the PNL, and the PSD will take over the Ministry of Justice;
• The PSD coordinator of the General Secretariat of the Government will be replaced by a representative of the PNL, and the PSD will take over the coordination of the Prime Minister’s Office.