Romanian President sticks to his position: PM must meet integrity criteria

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis maintained his position that the person he nominates for Prime Minister should meet integrity criteria. This means that the new Prime Minister shouldn't have been convicted and should not be under investigation for corruption.

In his first public appearance after the parliamentary elections on Sunday, December 11, Iohannis said he would start consultations with the political parties represented in the Parliament for naming a Prime Minister on Wednesday, December 14. Without directly saying it, he made it clear that he would not nominate the Social Democratic Party's leader Liviu Dragnea to lead the new Government.

"I announced the integrity criteria even before the electoral campaign so that they would be known to everyone and we wouldn't have any discussions after. These criteria stand," Iohannis said.

PSD won the elections by a wide margin and, together with the Liberal Democratic Alliance (ALDE), will hold the majority in the Parliament. The Social-Democrats thus have the right to propose the next Prime Minister. Several PSD leaders, including Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea, said that Liviu Dragnea should be the next PM.

However, Dragnea has a 2-year suspended conviction for electoral fraud in the 2012 referendum to suspend former President Traian Basescu. Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice ruled the final sentence against him in April this year. Moreover, in July, the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) sent Dragnea to court in another case, for abuse of office.

A law that was voted in 2001 says that a convicted person can't be part of the Government. PSD is now looking for ways to cancel that law, which would allow Dragnea to take office.

President Iohannis says, however, that the integrity criteria he firmly supports are not conditioned by the existence of any law. He also said that he was not afraid of any legal political action against him, after some PSD members suggested that they would try to suspend the President if he didn't accept their proposal to name Dragnea as head of the Government.

The consultations will start on Wednesday, December 14, with each party being allowed to send five members to the meetings. Representatives of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which won the parliamentary elections with a big score of over 45%, will be the first to meet the President for consultations, at 10:00.

Next, according to the program presented by the Presidential Administration, Iohannis will have consultations with representatives of the National Liberal Party (PNL), at 11:00. PNL has suffered a big defeat at the parliamentary elections, getting a score of just 20%. Thus, party president Alina Gorghiu decided on resign on Monday, one day after the elections.

The consultations will continue with the new party Save Romania Union (USR), which got some 9% of the votes. USR representatives will meet with the President at 12:00.

Next, the delegation of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) will have a meeting with Iohannis at 13:00, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) at 16:00, the Popular Movement Party (PMP) led by former President Traian Basescu at 17:00, and the parliamentary group of national minorities at 18:00.

According to the law, the President has to nominate a candidate for the Prime Minister position after consultations with the parties that are represented in the Parliament. Next, the candidate has to choose his team and get the Parliament’s vote.

Thus, if the candidate nominated by President Klaus Iohannis chooses a team that receives the Parliament’s vote, the new Government could be sworn in by the end of the year.

Comment: Tough decision for Romania’s political man of the moment

Irina Popescu, [email protected]