The National Liberal Party leadership decided on Saturday, 17 October 2026, in the National Political Bureau, to vote for the government proposed by prime minister-designate Luca Niculescu, which includes PSD ministers and independents. Radio Romania Actualități reported Ilie Bolojan’s line: Romania needs a working government to avoid the collapse of some institutions and basic public services.

Bolojan said that, in normal circumstances, the PNL would not have given this vote, given the cabinet’s composition. AGERPRES quoted the press conference: the Liberals go into opposition and offer “a necessary, conditional and one-off vote” after a political crisis of more than five months. Ministerial hearings are due on Monday; the investiture vote on Tuesday in a joint sitting.

The PNL leader said he would sign an agreement with Niculescu on Sunday, under which the designate undertakes to keep the deficit targets of previous governments, so European funds remain accessible and spending stays under control. The agreement lasts until after the budget law. Officials in posts with PNL backing will resign early next week.

Adevărul wrote that the bureau vote passed by a majority, with six votes against and one abstention. Investiture requires 233 votes. Saturday’s national decision is distinct from the earlier refusal by the PNL Iași branch to back the same government.

The party describes the support as one-off, not a return to office. This article is not a forecast of Tuesday’s parliamentary vote: investiture still sits with the joint plenary.

Image: Crislia, Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; archive building, not a photograph of the 17 October 2026 bureau meeting.

Sources consulted: Conducerea PNL a decis votarea guvernului propus de Luca Niculescu — Radio România Actualități; PNL to back investiture of Niculescu government in conditional, one-off vote — AGERPRES.