Romanian President Nicușor Dan said on May 12 that he would not nominate a prime minister candidate without confirmed parliamentary backing, while acknowledging that only a limited number of realistic options remain for forming a new government, according to Agerpres.

The statement comes even though no candidate currently appears to command majority support in parliament, given the entrenched positions adopted by the main political parties after the collapse of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s cabinet. 

Formal consultations with parliamentary parties, including the opposition Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), are expected to begin on May 14 or May 18.

Before nominating a prime minister, Dan said he would ask parties whether they had already negotiated a parliamentary majority.

“I do not want experiments,” Dan said, referring to the possibility of proposing a candidate lacking sufficient parliamentary support.

The president added that a technocratic prime minister “is a scenario with chances,” although he declined to name possible candidates publicly unless such a formula gains enough political backing.

Later on May 12, political sources familiar with the discussions indicated that presidential adviser Radu Burnete and central banker Șerban Matei were among the names considered by the Presidency for a technocratic premiership.

The remarks come one week after Bolojan’s government was overthrown through a no-confidence motion supported by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the far-right AUR.

As negotiations between parties remain blocked, a technocratic cabinet is increasingly seen as one of the few remaining options capable of attracting support from PSD, the National Liberal Party (PNL), reformist USR and the Hungarian party UDMR without formally rebuilding the previous coalition. It remains to be seen whether such an implicit informal renewal of the former ruling coalition is seen as an acceptable compromise by the main parties, which at this moment rule out further cooperation.

Such a technocratic government would likely focus on implementing reforms linked to Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), continuing fiscal consolidation and preparing the 2027 budget under close European Commission monitoring.

However, analysts expect limited room for major reforms under this scenario, as PSD would probably seek to retain influence over key executive decisions while balancing domestic political interests with commitments made to Brussels.

For now, the interim government led by Bolojan remains in office with support from PNL, USR and UDMR, while attempts to restore the former four-party coalition without Bolojan as prime minister are increasingly viewed as unrealistic.