Save Romanian Union (USR) deputies leader Ionut Mosteanu on Tuesday said a governing coalition among PSD, PNL and USR, led by Ilie Bolojan, would be 'the best formula.'

'That would be the best formula. Ilie Bolojan has proven to be a man of integrity who wants reform. He understands and knows very well that we need to tackle issues that have been postponed for years by various politicians who held the reins of power. (...) We still don't have mayors elected in two rounds. We haven't achieved administrative reform. We have completely absurd public spending. Local communities are dependent on central government funding, and the relationship between these funds and the mayors is simply unhealthy. That needs to stop if we are to fix things,' said Mosteanu at the Parliament Palace, when asked by journalists whether a Social Democratic Party (PSD) - National Liberal Party (PNL) - Save Romania Union (USR) government led by Ilie Bolojan would be possible if Nicusor Dan won the presidential election.

He reiterated that, according to parliamentary arithmetic, a majority cannot be formed without PSD.

'Let me explain this simply. It doesn't work otherwise. It's basic parliamentary math. I'll give you an example: USR with PNL and UDMR [Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania], even with the support of minority parties, still doesn't reach 50%. So PSD is needed at the table to reach that 50%. It doesn't work any other way,' said the USR leader.

Ionut Mosteanu welcomed Marcel Ciolacu's resignation as prime minister, saying it should have happened back in November 2024.

'He clung to power. He enjoyed holding the pen at Victoria Palace. If he had stepped down in November, there wouldn't be as much public outrage, because people see and understand the damage he caused Romania through his governance style, how he simply wrecked the country's finance, and drove the fiscal-budgetary situation into a ditch. He kept borrowing and spending money. Last year we had a deficit as big as in 2009, during the economic crisis, and in 2020, during the pandemic. But last year's only disaster was named Marcel Ciolacu. It's good he finally stepped back,' said the USR deputy.

According to him, the presidential elections have 'immediate economic consequences.' He noted that the National Bank of Romania (BNR) spent 2 billion euro on Monday to maintain the stability of the leu-euro exchange rate, and that this 'shock' followed after Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) leader George Simion received the most votes in the first round of the presidential election.

'The Ministry of Finance needed to borrow on the market. It couldn't. Now it's spending from its buffer. These are immediate consequences, and it would be an economic disaster that every Romanian would feel if Simion became president. (...) At USR, we've always exposed corruption and the scheming of the old parties. We understand the fight, and we are in it. But if you don't like the house you live in, you don't burn it down and then think about how to build a new one, you try to change a window, a door, the floor, or the furniture. That is the right way to rebuild,' he added. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Irinela Visan; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)