The subject of Cabinet reshuffles has become a new reason for dispute between the opposition and the government. While representatives of the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition say that the decision to change some of the ministers is a desperate step of the government following the shock of the referendum result, representatives of the ruling party PAS say that the changes in the government team will improve governance, IPN reports.
Socialist MP Adrian Albu described as "desperate" the PAS's decision to change several ministers in the Cabinet. According to him, the ruling party in this way aims to gain the sympathy of the electorate ahead of the parliamentary elections.
"These reshuffles represent a simple fear of the government that it will have an embarrassing result in the parliamentary elections. They chose to go for the lesser evil and make particular changes, but that's a bad strategy. Some ministers are not blamed by society. The PAS is blamed by society. We wonder why Andrei Spînu left. Was he asked to do it? Did he get upset? Or he has a new noble mission. We know that Nicu Popescu is also preparing to create a political party. Cabinet reshuffles do not make sense now. Ordinary elections should take place between July and October. I think they won't wait that long because a hard winter is coming. Minister of Energy Victor Parlicov said clearly and loudly that there is a great uncertainty and is waiting for an answer from Gazprom to understand how Moldova will warm up in winter. This reshuffling move is a desperate one," Adrian Albu stated in the program "Black Box" on TV8 channel.
Representatives of the extra-parliamentary opposition are also dissatisfied with the PAS's decision to ignore political parties and civil society in the process of identifying new ministers.
"It is a mistake to say that the Government belongs to a political party. In normal terms, the Government is of the Republic of Moldova. We are discussing the subject of reshuffles due to the shock that the ruling party suffered after the results of the referendum and the presidential election. Obviously, there is a good part of society that is dissatisfied with governance in general. The Government lags behind in many areas. But the ruling party is now making a big mistake. Any portfolio must be discussed with society, with professional guilds, with the people who work in the system. And now we have a lot of secrecy around which there are many speculations," said the chairman of the DA Platform Dinu Plîngău.
According to PAS MP Radu Marian, the names of potential ministers were discussed by the PAS team, but the announcements will be made by Prime Minister Dorin Recean. Moreover, the parliamentarian noted that the Cabinet reshuffling process is a common one in a democracy.
"We had an electoral period. There were elections and after these elections we can already make an assessment. We have already had some discussions, but it is not right for me to come up with announcements. We discussed how these reshuffles could improve processes. It is the Prime Minister's prerogative to announce these things. We, as a government, had to deal with unprecedented challenges in the history of the Republic of Moldova: war, energy blackmail, the refugee crisis. But, despite these developments, we have managed to advance in a number of areas. However, after these elections, it was seen that the developments at courts of law and in the prosecution service are not the appropriate ones,” explained Radu Marian.
Prime Minister Dorin Recean announced that the subject of Cabinet reshuffles will be treated on Monday, November 18, at a press conference. On November 11, Andrei Spînu announced his decision to quit as Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development and leave the PAS.
