Romanian President Traian Basescu announced on Friday evening that Victor Ponta, leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and one of the leaders of the opposition USL union of Social Democrats and Liberals, is the designated to form a new government. Ponta's designation comes following Traian Razvan Ungureanu government's fall in a censure motion in the Parliament today.

In a common statement with Basescu, Ponta said he accepted to become prime minister - despite he had said a month before that he would not accept "Basescu's prime minister" and Basescu said a year ago that "Ponta does not have the necessary maturity to be a prime minister".

Ponta's designation comes as the Democratic Liberals (PDL) and Hungarian Democrats (UDMR), who formed the latest governments of Romania, did not nominate anybody for the position, following the ousting of the Ungureanu government today.

Ponta joined politics in 2001, encouraged by Adrian Nastase, than Social Democratic prime minister. A former prosecutor, he became a leader of the Social Democratic Youth organization in 2002. He was elected president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in 2010.