Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca resigned Monday to pass the premiership to his coalition partner from the Social Democrats (PSD) after teachers’ protests had delayed the handover for several weeks.
Ciuca’s National Liberal Party (PNL) and their traditional rivals the PSD formed a coalition government with Hungarian minority party the UDMR in 2021.
Romania’s liberal president Klaus Iohannis brokered the power-sharing deal, with the premiership rotating between the main coalition leaders.
Ciuca was due to resign by the end of May to make way for the PSD’s Marcel Ciolacu, but the worst teachers’ strikes in 18 years delayed those plans.
Teachers’ unions suspended their three-week walkout Monday after the government promised a 25 percent wage rise and annual bonuses until 2027.
“I consider this conflict finished so the moment has come for me to end my activity as prime minister of Romania,” Ciuca told reporters as he praised his cabinet for “providing stability” .
Healthcare workers and police officers have recently also taken to the streets to demand higher wages, better working conditions and more staff.
The Eastern European country is also under pressure to reduce its fiscal deficit below the threshold of three percent set out by the European Commission.
Ciuca, 56, a retired four-star general who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, had no political experience before being appointed prime minister in November 2021.
His successor, 55-year-old Ciolacu, has been leader of PSD — Romania’s biggest party — since 2019.
Next year, Romania will hold general, presidential, local as well as European elections.
