SOURCES: Whom Nicușor Dan wants for foreign affairs and defense as USR faces another dilemma

Nicușor Dan is pressing two USR ministers to stay in office, even as the party considers moving into opposition. The portfolios are especially close to the president’s responsibilities: the foreign minister leads diplomacy, while the president serves as commander in chief of the army.

Political sources told Adevărul that Dan is trying to persuade Oana Țoiu to remain foreign minister in the next government. The president and Țoiu have worked closely over the past year, but she does not currently want to distance herself from USR, which has a difficult relationship with the head of state.

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There was a political crisis that exceeded our forecasts

The tension follows a series of political reversals. USR abandoned Elena Lasconi to support Nicușor Dan’s presidential bid. Dan later brought USR into government, but the partnership broke down after a PSD amendment deprived Dominic Fritz of his mayoral mandate two years before elections, according to the report.

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I am sorry that we were not able, as we had hoped, to carry out the rotation this summer.

If Țoiu refuses, Dan’s preferred foreign minister is reportedly Luca Niculescu, Romania’s former ambassador in Paris and current MAE secretary of state responsible for negotiations on OECD accession. At defense, the current minister, Radu Miruță, is also considered close to the president but is reportedly unwilling to break with his party. If USR remains in opposition, Dan is said to favor Dan Neculăescu, Romania’s ambassador to NATO. Neculăescu was also proposed for defense in the Veștea government, which failed to win parliamentary approval.

Speaking to diplomatic mission and consular office chiefs in Bucharest on September 1, Dan acknowledged that the political crisis had exceeded his expectations. “I am sorry that we were not able, as we had hoped, to carry out the rotation this summer,” he said. He added that he hoped to find the right position for the Foreign Ministry in dealings with the next government, citing postponed logistical, funding and overseas administrative-office issues.

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Nicușor Dan is putting pressure on Miruță and Țoiu to remain ministers, but that would mean betraying Fritz. It is a poisoned offer. I do not believe the two will accept, although they are very close to Nicușor Dan.