Șuteu was proposed by the Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș, who asked Alexandrescu to resign last week. Initially Alexandrescu agreed, speaking about “the most retrograde forces, opposing change”, which became so virulent in public that they were endangering the reform he started.

Soon afterwards Alexandrescu, who was supported at public meetings and on social media, re-called his resignation, but the Prime Minister stood firm. The Government expressed in a press release issued on 4 May 2016 its “will to continue the transformation process”.

Șuteu, who lost out to Alexandrescu as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Culture in January 2016, was previously director of the Romanian Association of Theatre Artists (UNITER), director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, director of the European cultural management Master's programme in Dijon (1995 -2001) and the president of the Forum of European cultural networks (1995-2002). She is regarded as highly competent with extensive experience in cultural management.

Alexandrescu was approved as Minister of Culture on 17 November 2015 and had started important changes in Romanian culture, including the film industry.

The crisis at the ballet company of the Bucharest National Opera, led to the cancellation of several performances and to the replacement of four successive directors by the Minister of Culture, who tried to ease the tensions between the dancers and the management. The crisis also involved the artistic director of the ballet company, Johan Kobborg, and the star ballerina and his fiancée, Alina Cojocaru.