Romanian Premier Replaces About a Third of Government Ministers

(Bloomberg) -- Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila shuffled the government and removed ministers who challenged Liviu Dragnea, the country’s de-facto leader, who emerged as the winner of a power battle within the party two months ago.

• The premier named seven new ministers to take over the Economy, Communications, Defense, Development, Culture, Sports, Labor ministries and moved Lia Olguta Vasilescu to head the Transport Ministry as some of the ousted ministers were among the challengers to Dragnea’s leadership in September.

Key Insights

• Dragnea is reaffirming his grip on power and on the government as the opposition gears up to file a no-confidence motion in parliament this year.
• Key cabinet members, such as Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici and Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, will remain in their posts.
• Government will now focus on revising the 2018 budget for the second time this year and on drafting next year’s spending plan.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Andrea Dudik, Elizabeth Konstantinova

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