The three-party government of new Romanian Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, including three ministers and one deputy prime minister delegated by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (known by its Hungarian acronym of RMDSZ), was sworn in Wednesday evening in Bucharest following parliament’s approval. The new government received 260 yes and 188 no votes, well above the required 226.
In his statement following the ceremony, RMDSZ President Hunor Kelemen (one of the two deputy prime ministers of the three-party coalition government) said the Romanian cabinet faces a momentous task.
“We have a difficult period behind us and we are facing a difficult period ahead. We must continue to fight the pandemic and we need a properly prepared healthcare system, but we also need good answers to the difficulties caused by the economic crisis,” Kelemen said.
“Measures that protect jobs, create new jobs and help small and medium-sized enterprises will play an important role in the government program. For more than a month, we have been emphasizing the need to open kindergartens and schools. We are also struggling with this from a governmental position, as most students in elementary school, eighth grade and twelfth grade also have to physically attend school.”
Kelemen also noted that the program of the coalition includes measures to expand the rights of national minorities, such as lowering the threshold for the use of their mother tongue, increased funding for minority classes, and a law regulating the status of national minorities.
“In the cultural part, the program includes not only the funding of institutions but also the renovation of institutions that operate under government control. Examples are the Hungarian Opera in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca), the Hungarian State Theater in Kolozsvár and the National Theater in Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureş). We also want to add the heritage of Torockó, the Szekler gates, and the pilgrimage to Csíksomlyó at Pentecost to the [UNESCO] World Heritage list,” Kelemen said.
Since the 1990 regime change in Romania, RMDSZ has had the longest track record for serving in government.
Title image: The Romanian cabinet of Prime Minister Florin Cîţu taking their oath in Bucharest on December 23, 2020. (still capture of Agerpres video)
