Prime Minister-designate Vasile Tofan is expected to retain the current number of ministries and deputy prime ministers, while most members of the outgoing Cabinet are likely to remain in office, according to PAS MP Marcel Spatari.
Speaking on TV8 on Thursday evening, one day before Tofan was expected to present his government team to the PAS parliamentary faction, Spatari said he did not anticipate major changes to the structure of the future Cabinet.
“I don’t think the portfolios will be changed. The ministries will most likely remain the same. This is my intuition—I don’t know what Mr. Tofan’s final decision will be—but from our discussions, I believe the same ministries and the same deputy prime minister positions without portfolios, namely reintegration and European integration, will remain. As for ministers, I think most of them will stay. I don’t expect substantial reshuffles,” Spatari said.
Video source: Republica unirii/TV8
According to the PAS lawmaker, Tofan has spent the past several days meeting individually with each minister to review the priorities, ongoing reforms, and challenges in every policy area. Spatari said the prime minister-designate needs continuity within the government team.
Asked whether Tofan would have full authority to select his ministers, including those who also serve as PAS vice-chairpersons, Spatari said the decision rests entirely with the prime minister-designate.
“All ministers have been consulted and asked whether they want to continue. Some may have decided this is the right time to leave or take on other responsibilities. I wasn’t present at those discussions, so I don’t know what they said, but my understanding is that most ministers want to remain,” he said.
Spatari highlighted the education and social protection portfolios as areas where continuity is particularly important because reforms are already underway.
Earlier, Parliament Speaker and PAS leader Igor Grosu said Tofan was expected to unveil the structure of the new government on Friday after completing consultations with the acting ministers.
Parliament is scheduled to vote on the new government’s confidence motion on July 21.