With a tired face, dressed in a light-colored canvas jacket, the PSD president came in front of the journalists to announce once again that he is ready to govern.
The PSD leaders left Bucharest, heated by the last hot rays of an end-of-August sun, choosing the coolness of the small town of Sinaia, where a meeting of the National Political Council took place.
Representatives of the Cotroceni Palace announced that starting in September, President Nicușor Dan’s priority will be to form a new government.
After the ordeal of the PNRR, where the Parliament gave the green light for the final tranche of the program, worth over 2 billion euros, it is now time to resolve the political crisis.
The loss of money from this final tranche was due to the PSD, which blocked the unified salary law and, through the integrity law, aimed to destroy a party from the former coalition, namely USR.
After achieving these objectives, which in reality further distanced the formation of a new parliamentary majority, Sorin Grindeanu's main concern was to release a "manifesto" to demonstrate the party's commitment to Europeanism and the Union.
"The Social Democratic Party proposes to all democratic parties in Romania to assume a simple principle: No internal political dispute should be externalized at the European level in a way that could harm Romania's economic, financial, or strategic interests," states an official statement, which aims to respond to the European scandal sparked by the "Fritz amendment," voted by the PSD in Parliament.
"Belonging to a European political family implies responsibility. Representatives of Romanian parties must use their European influence to obtain more opportunities for Romania, not to turn Brussels into an extension of political disputes in Bucharest," the document further states.
The fact that Sorin Grindeanu made such a statement suggests that the social democrats have major issues in Brussels, and their political games in the country have resonated in the European Parliament, where the groups of socialists, populars, and liberals (Renew) collaborate to counter the extremists.
The Shadow Hand
Regarding governance, Sorin Grindeanu stated that "he does not have the votes," as requested by Nicușor Dan, meaning he cannot go to the Cotroceni Palace and say that a parliamentary majority has coalesced around the social democrats.
"I am not in a position to present the president with 233 votes. The PSD can directly account for the 127 votes it has, being the largest group in the Romanian Parliament...," stated Sorin Grindeanu in the press conference held after the party leadership meeting.
"I will present to him (the president) what we have politically decided today, here, in addition to what we have already conveyed, namely our desire to form the government and lead the government ourselves. Furthermore, when there is that designation, it is the prime minister's issue, whether his name is Sorin Grindeanu or anything else, to gather that majority. So, I do not have additional information today compared to what I have been telling you all summer, in Parliament...," Sorin Grindeanu further stated.
If the above statement is interpreted strictly, the PSD leader is informing the public that the PSD is not in a position to form a new majority under the conditions imposed by the Cotroceni Palace. That is, without the support of AUR.
The fact that Sorin Grindeanu refers to communication with Nicușor Dan, who will be informed about the PSD meeting in Sinaia, indicates rather that the head of the social democrats is awaiting a helping hand from the Cotroceni Palace to bring the PSD to power.
That hand has been working behind the scenes so far, but without success.
The System's Firefighter
However, the situation changed after the failure recorded by the president in Parliament when he designated Adrian Veștea.
UDMR leaned towards the PSD, with Kelemen Hunor announcing that the formation he leads will vote for any formula - a PSD government or a technocrat. Additionally, a certain coalescence under the command of the "system's firefighter," Victor Ponta, has emerged among the extremist parliamentarians, detached from POT and SOS.
To this volatile core are added the coup plotters from the PNL, coordinated by the Gorghiu-Predoiu axis, as well as the minority group.
If everything goes according to the plan devised at the Cotroceni Palace, there will be a fragile majority supporting a "political government," as Nicușor Dan stated, which could be led by Alexandru Nazare, Eugen Tomac, or Sorin Grindeanu. The name of the prime minister has not been decided. The president is still making calculations.
Today we voted on two options in the resolution presented by Secretary General Claudiu Manda, either an exclusively PSD minority government or a government around the PSD, meaning ministers from other political backgrounds than social democrats...
Sorin Grindeanu, PSD President, statement after the National Political Council meeting in Sinaia
The political majority assembled these days is a fragile one. At a first calculation, without votes from AUR, PNL, and USR, Nicușor Dan can rely on PSD - 127 votes, UDMR - 32, PNL coup plotters - 13, Minorities - 17, Ponta's Group - 11. In total, approximately 200. Additionally, there could be around 10 - 15 votes from non-affiliated members. Thus, there is still a deficit of around 20 votes to form a majority of at least 233 parliamentarians.
The Crafted Government at Cotroceni
Even if this objective is achieved, the new government will be extremely fragile, always at risk of being dismissed through a vote of no confidence.
Therefore, any political negotiation no longer rules out the possibility of early parliamentary elections.
Nicușor Dan's next designation, although likely to pass due to the parties' low appetite for early elections, could also be rejected in Parliament. In such an unwanted situation for the president, the legal and political context will be created for new parliamentary elections.
We are witnessing a gamble made by the president in the hope that a new government over which he will have control levers can save his mandate, strongly affected by personal indecision and prolonged political crisis.
It must also be emphasized that PNL and USR already form a pole opposing Nicușor Dan and accusing him of collaborating with the PSD. The new executive, crafted at the Cotroceni Palace, if approved, will face strong opposition and a hostile population.