UDMR president Kelemen Hunor believes there could be several options for a new government, one of them being a government made up of experienced civil servants who have worked with all the political parties, TVR INFO reports.

“We have to see today. We are talking about a political government, right? Centred on PSD, with a prime minister – here, I have no idea whom the president will nominate. So I am saying what the options are for discussion. After that comes the second option, which Mr Bolojan was proposing last week, if I am not mistaken – a technocratic government, which we have also discussed here. (…) But with that one, we do not know how it would be measured, or where the technocrats would come from. And there would also be a third possibility – somewhere between the two options, but we have not yet discussed that. This means a government made up of civil servants with 30 or 25 years of service, director-generals, deputy secretaries-general who have worked with PSD, PNL and PD, who know the field, who have authority and experience; you do not have to bring people in from multinationals or the business sector who are familiar with administrative procedures. (…)

Not necessarily a technocratic government (the government – ed.), but a government of experts, an institutional government. I have not thought about the name, but [it would consist of] people from ministries who would then continue their careers in the central public administration. (…) I do not believe genuine civil servants can be controlled by parties. (…) But they have an advantage over the others. They know the procedures, know the system and, if you find the right person, they also have authority in that ministry,” Kelemen Hunor said in Parliament on Wednesday.

Asked whether he had discussed the option of a government of civil servants with PNL, USR and PSD, he denied it: “No, I have not discussed it either with the president or with my colleagues, because we have not had any meetings. (…) I do not necessarily have to make a proposal, but I will express this point of view. It is not a proposal, because I am not in a position to make any more proposals myself than I have done so far. I have presented this idea to you, alongside the other two being discussed – a political government, a technocratic government, where I do not know what it would look like or who the technocrats are, and a government made up of specialists from ministries, of civil servants from ministries.”

According to Kelemen Hunor, a future government could remain in office until 2028, “because no one will want to change it after the halfway point of the electoral cycle”.

“The president decides. (…) For now, everyone will probably stick tomorrow to what they have proposed: Siegfried Mureşan, our proposal, and Sorin Grindeanu,” the UDMR leader added.

If a new majority cannot be formed, Kelemen Hunor believes it would be a failure for Parliament, not the president, because it is not the president who assembles a majority.

“He does not conduct negotiations, he does not hold talks, so responsibility for the majority must not be shifted onto the president. The president is responsible for nominating someone after consultations. Parliament has the responsibility to vote for a government or categorically reject it. So the situation is very clear constitutionally. What each person has said, what they have tried to do, to push things to the right or left, is another matter. But constitutionally, responsibility does not lie with the president, please do not take offence. (…) Of course, this is also a matter of egos and competition among political actors. We need a government; we cannot allow things to continue like this any longer. But you realise that there is not much more I can do than try to find solutions and put forward arguments, because with 30 votes I can help one side or the other, but I may also be unable to help either one. So I have my limitations too,” he stressed.

The UDMR leader reaffirmed that no party attending consultations with the president “has strength on its own”. “So PSD, as a parliamentary group, has the most votes or, well, members in Parliament; then what remains of the coalition has… But we have more votes than PSD if we take PNL, USR and UDMR together. But this does not give us greater strength, because at present there is no agreement beyond the name of the proposed prime minister, Siegfried Mureşan; there is no agreement among us,” Kelemen Hunor argued.

Source: TVR INFO