The president offered no reasons for his rejection of Sevil Shhaideh, initially put forward by the Social Democrats (PSD), but there was speculation that it was due to her Syrian husband’s background.
Sources close to the president had indicated that Grindeanu was considered a “better solution.”
He is seen in Romania as a “disciplined soldier” within the PSD ranks and said himself in a recent interview that he had joined the party very young as an outlet for his leftist convictions.
The PSD had proposed the previously little-known Shhaideh after its thumping poll victory on December 11 when it won 45 per cent of the vote, enough to form a majority coalition with its partners ALDE.
Shhaideh, 52, who has only five months ministerial experience, is from Romania’s small and long-established Turkish minority, but her Muslim faith is not thought to have been the problem.
