Romania’s nominee for prime minister, Siegfried Muresan, has said he will attempt to form a government with a coalition involving three parties.
The country's president Nicusor Dan nominated Muresan after consultations with political parties. Muresan now has 10 days to present a cabinet to parliament and seek a vote of confidence.
Muresan, who is a member of the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL) and the European Parliament, says he will try to form a government with the PNL, the Save Romania Union (USR) and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party.
These three parties do not currently have a parliamentary majority, meaning Muresan will need support from other politicians for his proposed government to pass.
He told reporters at a news conference that his coalition would pursue a “pro-European and forward-looking” programme.
Under Romania’s constitution, the president can dissolve parliament if it rejects two proposed governments within 60 days of the first rejection, which could trigger fresh elections.
The previous government, led by Ilie Bolojan, collapsed after a no-confidence vote following tensions over austerity measures and efforts to reduce Romania’s large budget deficit.