PSD publishes demands for backing Veștea government: higher pensions, wage rises, and farm subsidies

The announcement

On Friday, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) released a statement outlining the measures it requires before granting parliamentary support to the incoming government led by liberal Adrian Veștea.

“The Social Democratic Party believes that Romania needs the swift installation of a full-power government to stop the austerity and economic decline caused by the previous administration.”

The party insisted that the government program must assume essential measures to protect the population and relaunch the economy.

Anti-austerity and social measures

PSD's first condition is an end to austerity: the party demands a halt to any increase in the fiscal burden on low- and middle-income earners and small entrepreneurs. It calls instead for a shift toward investment-led growth. The social package includes a simultaneous push for higher incomes and inflation control. PSD wants a minimum wage increase, pension indexation, and support for mothers, war veterans, and people with disabilities. It also seeks to extend the scheme that caps commercial markups on essential food and non-food items in the minimum consumption basket.

G4Media noted that the demand to cut inflation by raising pensions and minimum wage is a contradiction in terms, as income boosts typically fuel inflation.

Economic stimulus and agriculture

To unlock the economy, PSD demands the payment of state debts to private companies and the relaunch of stimulus programs in strategic sectors. These include state guarantees for investments and working capital, interest-rate subsidies, and extra funding for the "Rabla" car scrappage scheme to support the domestic auto industry. For agriculture, the party proposes a credit line for farmers with 80 percent of the interest subsidised by the state.

Administrative reforms

PSD's conditions also target public administration. The party wants a real administrative reform that reduces public spending by encouraging small localities to merge. It proposes cutting citizens' and firms' administrative burdens by at least 25 percent and shortening authorisation timelines by a minimum of 30 percent. Separately, the party urges expansion of the "Hot meal" school programme to bring down dropout rates.

Political context

PSD was a member of the outgoing government led by Ilie Bolojan, which the party now blames for austerity and economic decline. By setting these conditions, it positions itself as both a gatekeeper of the new cabinet and a protector of social welfare.