Nicușor Dan is reportedly set to dissolve Parliament if the Niculescu Government does not pass (sources)

President Nicușor Dan could initiate the procedure for early elections if the parties of the former coalition fail to reach an agreement on the investiture of the Luca Niculescu Government, sources close to the Presidential Administration told HotNews. According to them, if the designated prime minister fails to secure by Thursday a majority formalized through a transparent agreement, the decree dissolving Parliament could be presented on Friday.

Luca Niculescu is the fourth person designated by Nicușor Dan for the position of prime minister, following the fall of the Bolojan Government. The deadline for submitting the list of ministers and the government program is October 15, but at this point, the designated prime minister does not have a guaranteed majority.

PNL and UDMR have announced that they will not join the government, but would support the cabinet. USR is making its vote conditional on PSD's participation, while the Social Democrats accept neither assuming governance alone nor an exclusively technocratic executive. PNL and UDMR have 111 lawmakers combined, and with USR the total reaches 170, while 233 votes are needed for investiture. PSD has 127 lawmakers and was due to decide on Wednesday whether to join the government.

Niculescu said that all options remain open: a political, hybrid, or technocratic government. He also proposed a six-month support agreement aimed at priority reforms.

Although he had previously warned that early elections would prolong the political crisis and affect financial stability, Nicușor Dan did not rule out this scenario. Sorin Grindeanu said that PSD is prepared for early elections, although he does not consider them a good solution for Romania. The Presidential Administration had not responded to HotNews' questions by the time the article was published.

Read also Luca Niculescu, after concluding consultations with the parliamentary parties: “All the options I mentioned yesterday as well remain on the table [...] I am optimistic that we will reach a good outcome”