Media: Romania’s ruling party leader considers changing the PM

The tensions in Romania’s ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) seem to be increasing by the day, and the history could be repeating in the country, as local media reports that the PSD leader Liviu Dragnea thinks of changing the prime minister once again. Last year, the governing coalition made up of PSD and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) managed to change the prime minister via a no-confidence motion it filed against its own Government. The motion passed the Parliament vote and the ruling coalition named Mihai Tudose as new PM. Now, Dragnea and Tudose seem to not get along anymore. Dragnea allegedly met at the end of 2017 with the main leaders of his party, PSD, to discuss the possibility of changing the prime minister this month, reports local Digi24. The meeting was a tense one, however, and it did not lead to a clear conclusion. However, replacing their own prime minister for the second time could put PSD in a difficult position as president Klaus Iohannis said he wouldn’t appoint yet another PM representing PSD if this were to happen. The information comes one day after Niculae Badalau, PSD’s executive president, who is second in command after Dragnea, said the Romanian Government could be restructured so as to include only 16 ministries, instead of 24 at the present. He also talked about the organization of a Congress, saying that this would be “good for the party’s health.” However, another influential PSD leader, namely deputy prime minister Paul Stanescu, said that a party Congress would not be a good solution. In his opinion, the Tudose government should not be restructured as it works just fine as it is. The Government recently lost one of its ministers. Doina Pana, the head of the Waters and Forests Ministry, announced her resignation on Wednesday, January 3, invoking health problems. Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com