site.btaRomanian President Proposes Technocrat PM to Unblock Cabinet Talks - Local Media

After three weeks of negotiations, the pro-European parties in Romania still have not formed a government. Ilie Bolojan, leader of the National Liberal Party, no longer wants the post of prime minister. Sorin Grindeanu, the interim president of the Social Democratic Party, is also refusing it, according to local media.

To unblock the negotiations, President Nicusor Dan has proposed a technocrat prime minister, Digi24 reported. The candidate is Ionut Dumitru, the chief economist of Raiffeisen Bank.

He teaches finance at the Faculty of Finance, Insurance, Banking and Stock Exchange (FABBV) of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies and was president of Romania's Fiscal Council between 2010 and 2019. He graduated from FABBV, holds a master's degree in Financial and Monetary Policies and Strategies, and a doctorate in finance from the Academy of Economic Studies.

Dumitru represented the presidency at the last two meetings of the political technical commission, which discusses budget expenditures and the governance programme.