Leader of Romania’s Social Democrats leaves door open to alliance with far right

The leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with around 27% of MPs, or 127 out of the 464 parliamentarians, said that his party is close to gathering the 233 votes needed to form a government. 

Sorin Grindeanu, who was backed for becoming prime minister by his party, said he did not want to provide details about the strategy through which he could achieve this, so that his attempt would not be "sabotaged,” particularly by former coalition partners in the National Liberal Party (PNL).

“I am, you should know, quite optimistic that we will be able to form a government by the end of this summer. August is the last month of summer," Sorin Grindeanu said on Thursday, July 16, in an interview with Antena 3 cited by News.ro.

Nevertheless, Grindeanu, who is also the head of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, said he does not yet have the 233 votes needed. He refused to explain where the votes would come from.

However, during the interview, he seemingly tried to imply that the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party had received the backing of voters and was a legitimate partner. Together, the two parties would have around 47% of the Romanian Parliament, very close to establishing a majority. AUR is also credited with around 30-40% of the votes in an eventual snap election.

Grindeanu discussed AUR’s score and noted that “as long as Romanians vote for a party, I believe their decision must be respected.” He also refused to rule out an AUR-PSD government, but noted that the far-right party must resolve some of its issues, namely the “credibility of certain leaders” and “certain matters related to sanctions against Russia or the issue of Ukraine.”

AUR and its spokespeople have repeatedly said that they would not lend Romania’s support to the embattled nation. Grindeanu stressed that these are "major" issues supported by AUR that contradict the PSD's position, as well as the positions of the European Union, NATO, and the United States, Romania's strategic partner. "So these are issues that put us on a collision course," the PSD leader added.

The same day, Romanian president Nicușor Dan stated that there was no need for more formal consultations between him and the political parties regarding the formation of a new government, according to Digi24.

Instead, the president said that there was a consensus over finalizing the laws required for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), the EU-funded financial plan that grants funds worth billions of euros in exchange for agreed-upon reforms. Romania still has to collect EUR 4.5 billion from the PNRR.

“Beyond that, the solution lies where the votes are in Parliament, namely with the political parties," president Nicușor Dan said regarding the possibility of calling party leaders for another round of formal consultations.

The statements come after Romanian parties refused to back the technocratic government of Eugen Tomac or the political one, formed between PSD and PNL dissidents led by Adrian Vestea. Both appointments had the backing of the president, but both failed.

Nicusor Dan also referred to several proposals to resolve the ongoing political crisis, which began with the fall of the Ilie Bolojan government in May 2026 at the hands of a PSD-AUR alliance. He dismissed the solution of a series of minority governments, each spanning 6 months, and referred to technocratic governments or a rotation between a minority PSD government supported by the PNL and a PNL government supported by the PSD.

“These were the discussions, but the conclusion is that at this moment there is no solution, not even for a caretaker government that would last a few months," Nicușor Dan explained.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos|Pana Tudor) ...