BUCHAREST, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Monday appointed Social Democrat Mihai Tudose, candidate proposed by the parliamentary majority, as prime minister and mandated him to form a new government.
"The crisis we are going through...seriously damages Romania. It damages the Romanian economy, the image of Romania in the world," Iohannis said at Cotroceni Presidential Palace when announcing his decision, stressing that "the crisis must end as soon as possible".
"We must have as soon as possible a new government, a government that will begin to solve the problems that have remained unresolved."
According to the president, main opposition parties had neither concrete proposals for the prime minister's position, nor a political understanding between them.
Tudose was officially validated as proposal for the Prime Minister office earlier Monday by the National Executive Committee convention of the main ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD).
The proposal was also endorsed by the junior ruling Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE).
Tudose, 50, is the acting Minister of Economy in the government led by Sorin Grindeanu which was dismissed by a motion of censure last week. He had been in the same position from December 2014 to November 2015.
He is a PSD deputy and for 13 years the chairman of the Commission for Economic Policy, Reform and Privatization of the Chamber of Deputies.
The ruling coalition toppled on June 21 its own cabinet amid a tense relationship between the leadership of major ruling PSD and the prime minister who refused to resign even after his party withdrew political support for him and expelled him from the party.
Grindeanu's cabinet entered into office in January after the Social Democrats won more than 45 percent of the votes in the parliamentary elections in December 2016.
Iohannis made the decision after consultations with parliamentary parties on Monday afternoon.
Under the Constitution, the designated prime minister shall seek the vote of confidence of Parliament and list of the government within 10 days of his designation.
