“PSD can no longer be held captive while our social base is being destroyed,” Grindeanu said to leading party members in Bucharest on Monday, referring to the Social Democrats.
According to local media, crowds gathered in the capital for an evening rally backing Bolojan, who stated he would not resign. The prime minister accused the Social Democrats of “cowardly running” from responsibility for decisions they were also part of.
“What we see today is the jeopardizing of our country’s finances, blowing up governing, all done with total lack of respect toward our country’s citizens,” Bolojan stated, blaming his coalition partners for destabilizing the country during a time of war in the Middle East and while Europe’s economy stagnates.
Romania entered a political crisis in 2024 after a presidential election was controversially annulled due to suspected foreign interference.
Though the Social Democrats won the most seats in the Romanian parliament in late-2024 elections, recent polls suggest increasing support for the right-wing opposition Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, which placed second in the 2024 ballot. Alliance leader George Simion called for early elections on Monday, before the Social Democrats decided to drop Bolojan.
The Social Democrats and the liberals formed a fragile government with two other parties in early 2025, hindered by enduring political animosities and the Social Democrats’ refusal of austerity measures. Romania projected the largest budget deficit in the EU in 2025, approximately 9 percent of GDP.
The government initially planned for Bolojan to lead for the first two years before handing over leadership to a Social Democrat member.
Bolojan is expected to face a no-confidence motion in parliament next week, according to Romanian media. Reuters reported that the Social Democrats threatened to withdraw six ministers from the cabinet later this week.
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