Romania’s Europhile prime minister Marcel Ciolacu announced his resignation on Monday, following a disappointing performance by the ruling coalition in Sunday’s election.
In the first round, nationalist candidate George Simion came out on top, while Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan edged out the coalition’s candidate, Crin Antonescu, for the second spot in the upcoming run-off. The result effectively knocked the government out of the race for the presidency.
Ciolacu also said his socialist PSD party would exit the ruling coalition, though it would likely remain in place until after the May 18 run-off. Once the PSD departs, the government will lose its parliamentary majority.
“We saw how Romanians voted yesterday, which means the ruling coalition has no legitimacy—at least in its current form,” Ciolacu said. He added that PSD ministers would consult coalition partners on whether to stay on in an interim capacity.
The outgoing prime minister said he would not endorse either candidate in the second round, urging PSD supporters to “vote as they wish, according to their own conscience.”
