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The leadership of Romania’s National Liberal Party (PNL) convenes on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in an extended session of its National Political Bureau to decide whether to endorse the new government proposed by designated Prime Minister Eugen Tomac. The meeting, held at PNL headquarters in Bucharest, brings together all parliamentary deputies, county council presidents and mayors of county-seat municipalities—even those not members of the bureau—according to party officials .
Tomac, a former PNL vice-president who left the party in 2023 to lead the People’s Movement Party (PMP), was nominated by President Nicușor Dan on Wednesday after the collapse of Ilie Bolojan’s short-lived cabinet. Political analysts note that the PNL vote is the decisive hurdle: without its support, Tomac cannot secure parliamentary investiture. “The party must decide whether to reunite the centre-right or remain in opposition,” said political scientist Cristian Pîrvulescu, who described Dan as “a player who operates under different rules” in a two-minute address broadcast late on Wednesday .
Earlier reports suggested that PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu and Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan had privately coordinated to remove Bolojan, a PNL dissident, and install Tomac as premier. “The plan was to move quickly,” one insider told HotNews, “but it stalled when PNL’s internal factions refused to act” .
Thursday’s vote follows a week of intense lobbying. County leaders from Transylvania and Moldavia have publicly split, with some urging support for Tomac’s “national unity” platform while others insist on new elections. The outcome is expected by early afternoon; if endorsed, Tomac would present his cabinet to parliament on Friday for a confidence vote. Failure to secure PNL backing would force President Dan to nominate an alternative candidate or dissolve the legislature, triggering snap elections in late August.
Analysts warn that prolonged uncertainty could further erode public trust in Romania’s political class. “In liberal democracies, the grace period for leaders rarely lasts more than six months,” noted *Le Monde* columnist Alain Frachon, citing successive financial crises, wars and pandemic shocks as drivers of citizen disillusionment .