Parties divide up seats in the future government. USR minister: We are discussing continuity
Radu Miruţă, a USR minister holding two portfolios in the current interim executive, met yesterday at Victoria Palace with the Prime Minister-designate to discuss the allocation of ministries in the future government. He says he wants USR to keep its incumbent ministers in office to ensure continuity.
„We are discussing continuity so as to avoid a period of instability; one aspect of this continuity is that parties which have held certain ministries should continue with them—otherwise, we would be undermining our own arguments regarding the maintenance of stability. Of course, with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) no longer in the mix, discussions are taking place among the three parties regarding the distribution of the six ministries previously held by the PSD. And they must be distributed proportionally to the votes received by PNL, USR, and UDMR; it’s simple,” the USR minister declared in the interview with RFI.
How the discussions at Victoria Palace unfolded
Siegfried Mureşan met on Wednesday at Victoria Palace with the leaders of the parties supporting him to determine the allocation of ministries. PNL, USR, and UDMR held an initial discussion, though Radu Miruţă stated on Thursday that negotiations have not yet been finalized. „It is not a negotiation driven by an obsession with a specific number of ministries, because we are dealing with partners among whom things run more smoothly. Between us—the PNL, the UDMR, and ourselves—things proceed rationally. We look at the percentage of the vote each of us holds, and the number of ministries is distributed proportionally to those votes; in discussions like these, every political party wears a hat sized according to its percentage in Parliament,” stated Radu Miruţă.
What are the chances of the Mureşan Government passing the vote? Miruţă: Moderate chances; the process is ongoing.
Sorin Grindeanu, the PSD president, invited Siegfried Mureşan to talks on Wednesday. However, the designated Prime Minister did not show up. He would need the Social Democrats’ votes to get his cabinet approved by Parliament. Another option would be to negotiate votes with AUR, but the UDMR stated from the very beginning that it would not accept such a move. Nor would Nicuşor Dan agree to it.
Mureşan stated that he currently has secured votes from the PNL, USR, and UDMR, but is still short by more than 50 votes. Radu Miruţă says the Mureşan Government’s chances of passing the parliamentary test are „moderate” at this moment.