BUCHAREST — Romania’s Social Democrats, the leftist party holding the most seats in parliament, announced Wednesday that they are nominating their own leader, Sorin Grindeanu, to serve as prime minister. The move is part of a broader effort by political parties to piece together a functioning government after a pro-European coalition collapsed last month.
The Social Democrats themselves set off the political turmoil in early May when they walked away from the coalition and joined forces with far-right opposition lawmakers to bring down Liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
The three remaining parties from that dissolved coalition have since made clear they have no intention of entering into a new government alongside the Social Democrats. The problem is that without them, no other grouping holds sufficient parliamentary seats to command a majority.
A candidate put forward by the president to lead a new government was unable to secure enough backing. Under Romanian political rules, if a second candidate is nominated and also falls short, the country would be required to hold new parliamentary elections.
The pro-European parties have expressed a desire to form a minority government as a way to head off a snap election, but they have yet to reach a consensus on whether the Social Democrats or the center-right parties should lead that arrangement.
