Ludovic Orban, designated prime minister

President Klaus Iohannis announced on Friday that he designated Ludovic Orban as prime minister.

"The only proposal I have received is Ludovic Orban and, consequently, I have designated Mr Ludovic Orban to the position of prime minister of the government," said Iohannis at Cotroceni Presidential Palace.

He added that all political parties promised him that they will get involved in Parliament to fast-track the proceedings so that, in a very short time, possibly on Saturday, a vote of confidence may be taken in the Orban government.

"This is a vote that will be cast under very special conditions, but I have full confidence that Parliament has all the data and all the possibilities to go through this procedure successfully. I expect all parties, all the responsible politicians in the Romanian Parliament to be part of this joint effort to resolve the situation, to end this political crisis so that we can concentrate 100% on combating coronavirus infections," said Iohannis.

He added that he decided these consultations with the parliamentary parties and formations should take place in a teleconference format because of the special situation generated by the emergence of coronavirus in Romania.

The chief of state called his discussions with all parties and parliamentary groups as "very good", "very constructive."

"All the approaches of the politicians I talked with were consistent, mature and constructive. Everyone understood that we are in a very special situation, in a crisis situation, where there is no place for political vendettas, but solutions are needed, and very urgently," said Iohannis.

He added that there is a government in place, the one led by Ludovic Orban, who "has worked very seriously and very well since voted in office, with full or interim powers."

"This government has worked very well since the coronavirus crisis began. We have taken the most appropriate measures together, at the right time and the results are visible. We have relatively few cases of coronavirus infection in Romania and we want to manage the crisis efficiently. It is impossible to imagine that during this battle where we are a serious team we would change everything overnight, because then nothing would work," said Iohannis. AGERPRES