Dacian Cioloş quits as leader of Romanian opposition party

Dacian CioloÅŸ, former Romanian prime minister and now MEP, said Monday he was resigning as head of the liberal Save Romania Union (USR) after his plans to reform the party were rejected.

“I don’t think business as usual is still a solution for [the party],” Cioloş said at a brief press conference Monday evening. He stressed the importance of modernization and dialogue within the party, which has seen growing tensions in recent months following its fusion with the PLUS party. 

Cioloş, a former European commissioner, had been USR leader since October, after stepping down as chair of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament. Shortly after that he was proposed as prime minister by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis but failed to win the backing of MPs. 

He said he will continue as a member of the party. When asked by a journalist if he had abandoned his party, Cioloș said that not resigning as leader would be akin to “a driver noticing his car doesn’t have a steering wheel but staying in the car to give the impression that he is still driving.”