Last night, PM-designate Nicolae Ciucă gave up his nomination to form a new government after it became clear he does not have the votes in Parliament to become the new prime minister.

Nicolae Ciucă said he had hoped to find a political solution, but the “mathematical reality” of his National Liberal Party’s (PNL) attempt to form a minority government without other parties meant he could not garner enough support.

Ciucă, who still serves as interim Minister of Defence, told reporters he decided to give up the nomination after the executive political bureau of PNL withdrew the mandate. “I have the conviction that all the activities taking place at the level of the political parties should be based on dialogue and the understanding of the situation the country is going through at the moment”, he said.