Mihai Razvan Ungueranu, the head of Romania’s foreign intelligence service, has been asked to form the country’s new government.
President Traian Basescu nominated Ungueranu after Emil Boc, the prime minster, resigned on Monday under the pressure from his own party and protests against his cabinet’s policy of austerity.
Ungueranu now has 10 days to put together a cabinet and a programme for a confidence vote in parliament. A career diplomat, he was the foreign minister from 2004 to 2007.
Emil Boc resigned after weeks of nationwide protests against a slew of austerity measures and months before a parliamentary election.
“It is the moment for important political decisions. From this point of view, I took the decision to give up the government’s mandate,” Boc said in a speech after a government meeting.
Boc enforced the cuts, including slashing public salaries by a quarter and raising sales tax, to complete a $26.24bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout deal and boost the economy after a deep and bitter recession.
Thousands of Romanians have braved freezing temperatures in the last month to protest against Boc and President Traian Basescu.
The popularity of Boc’s centrist PDL party has sunk to less than 20 per cent, according to opinion polls, with a parliamentary election due later this year.
Victor Ponta, leader of the leftist USL opposition alliance, told the Reuters news agency last week he wanted an early election and was committed to working with the IMF.
The opposition alliance has more than 50 per cent support in opinion polls.
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