Romanian lawmakers back Cabinet of independent Luca Niculescu seeking to end a months-long crisis

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers voted Tuesday to back a Cabinet proposed by Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu, an independent who seeks to end a monthslong political crisis.

President Nicusor Dan nominated 55-year-old Niculescu, a diplomat and former journalist, to be prime minister on Oct. 5, his fourth such nomination after three previous nominees failed to form a government.

Niculescu was widely expected to succeed after winning a pledge of support for a minority government from the Social Democrats and others.

Speaking in Parliament ahead of the vote, Niculescu told lawmakers that Romania “has no time to waste” and that his would be “a government that brings money and investments to the country … and that will defend Romanians.”

The vote was 338 to 58.

A political crisis has gripped the European Union country since May, when Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan was ousted in a no-confidence motion jointly filed by the Social Democratic Party, which was part of the governing coalition, and the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party.

When the previous coalition came to power in 2025, Bolojan was sworn in with the aim of ending one of Romania’s worst political crises in its post-Communist history and reducing a massive budget deficit.

Romania has faced a long period of instability after the annulment of a presidential election in December 2024. The country has also grappled with one of the highest budget deficits in the European Union, rampant inflation, and a technical recession.