RIVAL political parties in Romania agreed today to form a majority government made up of groupings that were traditionally on opposite sides.

The move shuts out far-right nationalists who made significant gains in the election on December 1.

The Social Democratic Party (PSD), which topped the poll, reached agreement late on Tuesday to form a grand coalition with the right-wing National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union party (USR) and the small Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) party.

The parliamentary election came hard on the heels of a presidential vote in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu won the first round. 

His surprise success plunged Romania into turmoil as allegations of a “Russian influence campaign” on TikTok were used by the Constitutional Court to annul the vote.

A statement from the new coalition said the parties would potentially support a “common pro-European candidate” in the new presidential elections. 

President Klaus Iohannis, whose second term is set to expire later this month, said a new date for the rerun presidential election would be set once the new government has taken office.

The coalition statement said: “In the coming days, the four parties and the representatives of the national minorities will work on a joint governing programme, focusing on development and reforms, while addressing the priorities of Romanian citizens.”

Elena Lasconi, the leader of USR who was set to face Mr Georgescu in the annulled presidential run-off, said after the agreement was reached that “Romania is going through a very difficult” period and that cutting public spending and deregulation would be part of the governing programme.

In 2021, despite historically being Romania’s two main opposition parties, the PSD and the PNL formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition together with UDMR, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute.