Romanian Liberals Back PM for New Term

Romania's technocrat Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said on Tuesday that he would not run in the upcoming general elections but would accept another mandate as head of the cabinet if he finds he can work with the National Liberal Party and if it will support his ideas for reform.

The statement came a few hours after the co-chair of the National Liberal Party, Alina Gorghiu, announced that it had nominated Ciolos as the best candidate for the prime ministerial position after the December 11 elections. 

Ciolos has been the head of the Romanian cabinet since November 2015, when he replaced social-democrat Victor Ponta who resigned from office after a series of anti-corruption protests in Bucharest.

The premier is the only member of Romania's technocratic government who agreed so far to support the Liberal Party.

However, he said he would not be actively involved in the electoral campaign because he doesn't feel it's the right thing to do as long as he is the head of the government.

His move does not come as a surprise as he has been tipped for the nomination for a few weeks, as both Gorghiu and the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis have been hinting that Ciolos would be the Liberals' top choice for PM.

However, the negotiations within the party have been tough because he is not a party member and has refused to join. 

Ciolos launched his own platform for administrative reform last week, Romania 100 Platform and he managed to gather 50,000 signatures of support in a week.

He said that it remains his main political project, although it's not meant to become a political faction.

"The parties are in charge of their own campaigns, based on their programmes. As long as I am not running, I don't think my involvement would...