Romanian President Klaus Iohannis (photo by Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.com)

Iohannis made the decision on Tuesday after days of consultations with parliamentary parties, to which only the PNL came with concrete proposals for the prime minister’s position and even the cabinet’s composition.

According to the law, Orban must draw up a list of cabinet members and a government program within 10 days after designation and then send it to Parliament for debate.

If Parliament refuses to endorse Orban or a possible second nominee for prime minister, the president can dissolve Parliament and call early elections. Romania is scheduled to hold its next general election by no later than early 2021.

On October 10, Viorica Dăncilă’s Social Democrat (PSD) government lost a no-confidence vote initiated by the PNL, after it was abandoned by its coalition partner in late August and became a parliamentary minority, Romanian media note.

In a speech after accepting the nomination, Orban said his government’s main priorities would be restoring macroeconomic balance and correcting the economic measures that have damaged the business environment in Romania, while reducing the number of ministries and bringing back government competence, according to a report by Euronews.com.

“We also aim to follow all the principles of the rule of law, ensure real independence for the justice system, and bring institutions back to serving citizens,” he added, in directing criticism at the outgoing PSD-led government.