Călinescu remained in office during the royal dictatorship established by King Carol in 1937, serving as vice-premier under Miron Cristea. According to historian Joseph Rothschild, he was actually the real power in the government. He was also a founding member of the National Renaissance Front (FRN) created by as the sole legal party in December 1938, and was generally seen as very close to Carol. He soon became involved in a virulent dispute with historian Nicolae Iorga, when the latter issued harsh criticism regarding Carol's January 1939 initiative to dress large sections of the society, including Romanian Academy members, in various uniforms (a measure backed by Călinescu); Iorga remarked with irony: "I'm prepared to wear the FRN uniform, but allow me to wear a speared helmet on my head, on which to place is, to impale the Minister of the Interior". Eventually (in May of the same year), Iorga gave in to the demands and became a supporter of the regime.