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A PNL leader announces that he will not vote for the government led by Luca Niculescu

Gabriel Dumitrache

16 October 2026, 11:49

Politics

Lucian Alecu / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

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PNL MP Dragoș Ciobotaru, leader of the liberal branch in Vrancea, announced that he will not vote for the government led by designated Prime Minister Luca Niculescu. He is the first PNL branch leader to publicly express opposition to the new Executive, ahead of the meeting at which the liberals will officially decide the party’s position.

Ciobotaru argues that PSD, the party he accuses of causing the fall of the Bolojan Government, must assume responsibility for forming a new majority. The liberal leader criticizes the proposed formula, under which PSD would have 11 ministers, and says that PNL cannot accept what he considers compromises incompatible with the party’s principles.

The MP announced that, at Saturday’s meeting of the National Political Bureau, he will ask the liberals not to support the investiture of the Niculescu Government. According to him, the position is supported by the leadership of PNL Vrancea and by the majority of liberal mayors in the county.

The message comes after interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan called for the swift installation of a government with full powers, arguing that Romania can no longer afford an extension of the political crisis. Signals regarding a possible favorable vote by PNL have drawn criticism from some of the party’s supporters.

Context: PNL oscillated between supporting the investiture and remaining in opposition during negotiations for the Luca Niculescu Government

Before Deputy Dragoș Ciobotaru’s announcement, the PNL leadership stated that the party intended to support the investiture of the Luca Niculescu Government, but remain in opposition and not join the government. President Ilie Bolojan spoke about a possible bilateral political agreement for a period of six months, which would establish the conditions under which the liberals could support measures proposed by the Executive, without negotiating participation in government.

At the same time, the liberals set conditions related to budgetary discipline and deficit targets, as well as the need for a government with full powers to manage the budget rectification and prepare the budget. Bolojan specified that the PNL was not seeking positions and was not negotiating ministries, but was pursuing guarantees regarding financial stability and the continuation of reforms, while the final decision on whether to provide support was announced as due to be made within the party’s internal bodies.

The public messages were also accompanied by internal criticism: Alina Gorghiu challenged the PNL leadership’s strategy, recalling that liberals who had previously supported a government involving the PSD had been sanctioned, whereas now the party leadership would be willing to support an executive associated with the PSD. At the same time, there were also positions rejecting the scenario of a joint PNL-PSD government, in the context of negotiations to form the majority.