Stolojan, 61, is one of Basescu’s closest political allies. His nomination must be validated by Parliament this month. “I considered a person able to understand and manage the economic crisis, on the one hand, and a person with sufficient authority to properly manage the government and state institutions, as Romania is increasingly affected by the global crisis,” Basescu said.

Liberal Democrats won the elections by a mere two seats in the Senate and one seat in the Chamber of Deputies ahead of the main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD). The two parties are to form a coalition government together.

Businesspeople interviewed by Business Standard are moderately optimistic about the nomination. As governing manager, he is seen as a qualified and experienced person, but the business community has doubts about his ability to manage relations between members of the future ruling coalition. The Liberal Democrats are centrists, while Social Democrats have a center-left program. Furthermore, the two parties have been political foes much of the time, as they have always been on opposite sides in previous governments. “As far as his speech is concerned, he is flawless, coherent, and says the right things. If he wants to do his job, he can do it, because he knows what he has to do and with whom,” said executive search specialist George Butunoiu. However, Butunoiu added, Stolojan “is not a person one wants to have around. He has no charisma and might not manage to impose authority.”

The new government must combine a joint program to battle the impact of the global financial crisis with an electoral promise to increase salaries in the public sector.

Leadership is seen as the main risk factor, given the governing majority is formed by two parties with different programs. “I think he must build a team with very good people, who had good results, and not necessarily in the political area. For at least one year, he should be surrounded by specialists, said Sanador clinic network Development Manager, Florin Andronescu.

“Romania is like a large factory with problems that must be restructured. Given Theodor Stolojan’s experience in terms of both the prime minister position and the economy, we must give him credit for gathering the others around him,” Bega Grup President, Marius Cristescu, said.

Stolojan served as Romania’s Prime Minister in 1991 and 1992. He worked for the World Bank in the 1990s. Since 2007, when Romania joined the EU, Stolojan has been a member of the European Parliament.

‘I considered a person able to understand and manage the economic crisis, on the one hand, and a person with sufficient authority to properly manage the government and state institutions, as Romania is increasingly affected by the global crisis.' Traian Basescu President of Romania