Romania: Pro-European Bolojan appointed prime minister
After four weeks of negotiations with parliamentary parties, Romania's new President Nicușor Dan has nominated the pro-European politician Ilie Bolojan as prime minister. He described Bolojan as "the person best fit to carry out the necessary reforms of the Romanian state apparatus". The liberal politician has yet to be confirmed by parliament. Commentators discuss the tasks he faces.
A candidate with managerial talent
G4Media.ro writes about Ilie Bolojan:
“But who is this politician who is known for having radically reformed the city of Oradea [when he was mayor] and made far-reaching cuts in local government? He has claimed in several interviews that he has managerial talent. This approach has advantages - he leads with a strong hand and focuses on results - but also disadvantages: he lacks experience in negotiating and is accused of being authoritarian. ... And Bolojan doesn't speak any foreign languages. ... He is known in his [national liberal] PNL party for reading a lot. ... And he is also seen as a no-nonsense man who doesn't like protocol or pomp.”
Cutbacks on the cards
Deutsche Welle's Romanian service describes a precarious economic situation that needs to be resolved:
“Ambitious tax reforms and strict budgetary control are required to correct the budget deficit by 2030. ... Yet according to EU Commission forecasts, Romania's budget deficit will remain high both this year and next: 8.6 percent (2025) and 8.4 percent (2026). Furthermore, public debt could exceed the risk threshold of 60 percent of GDP in 2026. Romania would then lose the confidence of the markets and find itself in an unsustainable budgetary situation. Without credible and swift tax reforms, Romania risks being subject to EU sanctions.”
These old dogs won't change their ways
Ziarul Financiar doubts that the necessary reforms will be implemented:
“The very politicians who landed Romania in the alarming situation of having to find 5 to 6 billion euros to salvage the state budget - a pittance when you have a GDP of 400 billion euros and 80 billion euros in EU funds - are now pretending to be very concerned. ... With a competent government, these funds should have given us a budget and trade surplus. ... Are we really supposed to believe that Bolojan and friends, the party cliques that have been divvying up Romania's resources among themselves for decades, will act differently now than they have done in the past?”