Former European Union agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos was on Tuesday appointed Romania’s new prime minister, following last week’s resignation of Victor Ponta after mass anti-government protests sparked by a deadly nightclub fire.
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In announcing his nomination, Iohannis said that Romania needed a strong technocrat government and a prime minister of integrity, who was unmarred by corruption scandals.
Iohannis said Romania’s political parties need to be cleaned up ahead of elections late next year. “I am convinced it is the right path for a year (until the election)”. Tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets after an October 30 fire and stampede at a concert in Bucharest claimed 48 lives.
Ciolos served as Romania’s Agriculture Minister between 2007 and 2008 and after that was nominated as Agriculture Commissioner by then European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, a position he held between 2010 and 2014. He now faces charges of forgery and money laundering.
Radu Magdin, a political commentator said he had “no doubt” Parliament would approve Ciolos.
Other parties stopped short of proposing a premier.
“We’ve been through a key period for our society”.
Ciolos has to form a government which needs to be approved by Parliament.
Ciolos has at most 10 days to draw up a governing program and pick his ministers before seeking a confidence vote in parliament.
“He (Ciolos) will likely try to select independent candidates to head individual portfolios”.
“I am aware that this is expected of the future government – to be able to “lend an ear” to those who have ideas, [those who] not only raise the issues we are facing, but identify the solutions for going further and at the same time, this Government should have the wisdom and maturity of working with Parliament, with those who are able to make decisions that would allow us to progress”. It gained 0.3 percent to 4.4460 against the euro at 7:06 p.m.in Bucharest, advancing for the first session in six.
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“We still expect a swift resolution to the political instability, which would be friendly for Romanian marlets markets”, analysts at ING Bank in Bucharest said.
