Romania President Endorses New Ministers

Fears that President Traian Basescu might hold up the formation of Romania’s new government ended on Wednesday when the 17 members of the reconfigured cabinet finally took their oath in the Cotroceni palace.

Only minutes before, Basescu and his arch-rival, Prime Minister Victor Ponta, agreed that the President would sign the decrees investing the ministers while the Prime Minister in turn would present an updated version of the government's programme to parliament.

“We finally reached an agreement, so the new government is appointed according to the constitution … I hope that if I hold up my end of the deal, the government  will do the same,” Basescu said.

Ponta pledged to send the government's new programme to parliament on Thursday, though he suggested it was unnecessary.

“The programme is 98-99 per cent identical to the one presented to parliament and voted on in 2012," he said.

"Some of the objectives had already been reached, so the document needs only minor changes,” Ponta added.

In recent days, Basescu had refused to approve the new team of ministers, saying he would only do so once they outlined their new programme. For his part, Ponta said his new government needed only parliament's approval, and already had it. On Tuesday, the new administration won a confidence vote with 346 votes for and 192 against.

In a related development, President Basescu announced that he had also ratified the latest review of a 4-billion-euro aid deal with the International Monetary Fund, ending a weeks-long standoff over the agreement.

Romania's centre-left coalition was shaken last week, when the National Liberal Party abandoned the coalition government, leaving it with only a precarious majority in...