Ruling Party Power Struggle Threatens Romanian Cabinet

Romania's government faces a turning point this weekend after the ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD leader announced he is working on an evaluation report on the activity of the current cabinet, raising concerns that there could be a reshuffle or a whole new team of ministers.

PSD leader Liviu Dragnea said on Friday that all ministers, including the head of the cabinet, Sorin Grindeanu, handed in their resignations immediately when they were handed their mandates, without specifying the exact date on which this happened.

But the Dragnea also said that no decision has been made yet whether to get rid of the entire government or to retain some of its members.

"I hope we have the report ready on Sunday night. It is not an evaluation of the ministers, but of the governance programme," he told reporters of Friday afternoon.

"We don't know if we will ask for changes in the government, no matter who we're talking about; the most important thing is the governance programme, we need to see if we have delays in implementing it," he added.

He also said that all ministers and the prime minister will be called in for talks on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and the PSD National Executive Committee will make a decision about who will remain in the cabinet.

"I don't know when the decision will be made," he added.

Several high-ranking PSD members, including vice-president Gabriela Firea, have criticised Grindeanu for what they claimed was his lack of communication with the party leadership, raising concerns over the cold relationship between the premier and Dragnea.

The cabinet's efficiency was questioned after Labour Minister Olguta Vasilescu was forced to postpone the public sector wage hikes promised by the PSD during the...