Why the Prime Minister-designate did not negotiate with AUR: Luca Niculescu’s explanation

Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu did not include AUR in the negotiations for forming the future government. He explained that the party had not expressed a willingness to vote for an executive.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu was asked why he had not held negotiations with AUR—as he had with representatives of the other parliamentary parties—prior to presenting the governing program and the list of ministers to Parliament.

„I held discussions with parties that showed an openness to voting for such a government—or for a government, whether political, technocratic, or mixed. The party you are referring to stated that it is not currently open to voting for a government,” Niculescu declared.

However, he noted that after his investiture, he would hold discussions with party representatives in Parliament.

„That does not mean that, once I am sworn in, I will not come to Parliament—or ask ministers to come to Parliament—to engage in dialogue with parliamentary representatives, in accordance with institutional responsibilities, since they are the representatives of the people. So, it would be a—I would say—very natural sign of openness toward Parliament, an institution that is vitally important to democracy,” the Prime Minister-designate said.

He added that he respects the voters of Romania’s political parties and that „there will be time for discussion once the government is invested”: „I am focusing now—there isn’t much time left—on forming the government.” In recent days, Luca Niculescu has held consultations with the political parties regarding the formation of a new government. He needs a minimum of 233 votes for investiture.