Romania's PM-designate Veștea accuses PNL leader Bolojan of replacing loyalists with 'outsiders and opportunists' ahead of Sunday's congress

The congress and the accusation

Romania's designated prime minister Adrian Veștea launched a scorching public attack on PNL president Ilie Bolojan hours before the party's extraordinary congress set for Sunday, 21 June 2026. In a Facebook post published Saturday evening, Veștea wrote that the congress represents "the elimination of all true liberals from the leadership of our political formation. Practically, the entire history and identity of the party are thrown in the garbage." He claimed that out of a party with 12 county council presidents, 1,150 mayors and nearly 10,000 local elected officials, only one local officeholder, Reșița mayor Ioan Popa, will sit in the new leadership team.

'Venetici și oportuniști' in the leadership

Veștea specifically objected to the inclusion of vice-premier Oana Gheorghiu and interim minister Dragoș Pîslaru, who only recently joined PNL and are now part of Bolojan's proposed narrow leadership. He described them as "venetici și oportuniști" (outsiders and opportunists) and noted that one of them had already passed through three other political formations, all progressive.

It is inadmissible that almost all the people in the party leadership who were validated electorally, who brought votes for PNL, are pushed aside for outsiders and opportunists.

Warning about USR and a presidential project

Veștea warned that the current direction risks reducing PNL to a junior partner of the reformist USR party.

It's no wonder that, quite probably, soon, both literally and figuratively, if something doesn't change, PNL will become USR's keychain.

He further accused Bolojan of aiming to build a platform for a presidential run in 2030, calling the current party trajectory a "disastrous zodiac" that could transform PNL into a mace meant to pulverize trust in Romanian state institutions. He cited what he described as unjustified attacks on the President, the judiciary and Parliament coming from Bolojan's camp.

The threat of expulsion and government talks

Veștea, who faces possible exclusion from PNL at the congress, insisted his upcoming government would contain "more liberals than in Bolojan's government or in the new leadership being prefigured for PNL." He expressed optimism that once the new government is installed, "many of the wrongs committed recently will be washed away." The designated PM urged long-standing party members not to despair, reminding them that PNL has survived harder battles. He also complained that veteran liberals are being silenced by an "army of bots" online.

Background of the rupture

The conflict follows President Nicușor Dan's decision to ask a PNL vice-president to form a government, a move that undercut Bolojan's authority without prior consultations. Veștea, initially considered a candidate for the party leadership, reversed course and is not running. The extraordinary congress on 21 June is expected to confirm Bolojan's leadership line and could formally exclude Veștea.