Siegfried Mureșan: PNL will not govern with PSD again, alliance with USR remains firm
Romania's proposed prime minister Siegfried Mureșan drew sharp red lines on Friday, excluding any return to a PNL-PSD government and pledging to keep the alliance with USR and UDMR intact.
Deadlock after censure motion
Two months after PSD and AUR filed a censure motion, Romania still lacks a full government. Siegfried Mureșan, the PNL-USR-UDMR nominee for prime minister, blamed the failed consultations at Cotroceni Palace on a "non-negotiation" approach.
The method of non-negotiation, where we sat for at most an hour, has not borne fruit.
He called for serious talks lasting tens of hours, with the president's participation.
Red lines: no PSD, no split from USR
Mureșan was unequivocal: PNL will not enter a new coalition with the Social Democrats.
We, the National Liberal Party, decide who is in our yard and who our political partners are. The times when decisions about PNL's future were made at PSD headquarters are over.
He also dismissed the scenario of a PNL-PSD-UDMR government led by Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, insisting that the party's honest partnership is with USR and UDMR.
We will not separate from USR. We know that PSD would like to divide us, to control us, that will not happen.
Parliamentary arithmetic
The centre-right bloc holds 166 seats against PSD's 127, Mureșan noted, arguing that negotiations must proceed on equal footing. He said PSD had demanded unconditional support for its own candidate, blocking progress.
- PNL+USR+UDMR
- 166 seats
- PSD
- 127 seats
Two minority government paths
Mureșan outlined two possible outcomes: a minority government of PNL, USR and UDMR, or a minority PSD government. He proposed a truce agreement in which both sides commit to urgent national priorities before discussing ministerial posts. The first extraordinary parliamentary session will address PNRR milestones, which he expects to be uncontroversial, and could reopen dialogue.
Warning on AUR and presidential missteps
Mureșan cautioned that an AUR-led government would be "very bad for Romania," citing Greece's near-exit from the eurozone under an extremist party. He also criticised President Nicușor Dan for designating Adrian Veștea as prime minister without consulting PNL, calling the move rightly met with scepticism. Mureșan denied any contact with Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar to influence UDMR, dismissing the rumour as unfounded.
