The disagreements that appear inside parties and between them are natural and even necessary processes as long as they do not exceed certain limits and do not obstruct the country’s development goal. The way they take place is generally typical of the Moldova political class, both to the pro-European segment and the pro-Eastern segment. During the campaign, the ruling parties must not forget about the Government’s task. Such opinions were stated in the public debate “Why does the electoral behavior of the Coalition count for the country’s European future?” that was staged by IPN News Agency.
Vlad Filat, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), underlined that all the political parties must show responsibility. “Not only the ruling parties, but also all the election runners must have a civilized behavior. We will propose signing an accord and do not have to do it in a public manner, but we should do it at least at the level of commitments between the election contenders, pursuing this objective of civilized participation in the election campaign, which is in the direct interest of the voters and the parties involved,” said the former Prime Minister.
The leader of the PLDM called on the political parties of the pro-European coalition not to forget about the care for the country during the campaign. “The behavior of the government coalition will influence not only the electoral goal, buy also the way in which Moldova will be governed in this period of time. The fact that we are in an election campaign does not mean that the responsibility for governance is shifted from the parties. That’s why simultaneously with the participation in the elections, the political parties must also ensure the appropriate government of the country,” he stated.
According to IPN director Valeriu Vasilica, the behavior of the political players in this campaign will be decisive for the country’s development course – the West or the East. “A balance has been established in society between these options and the behavior of the parties that promote the European option counts a lot for the voters when they take their decision,” he stated, adding that the arguments inside the government coalition may hamper the pro-European course.
The project’s permanent expert Igor Botan, director of the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT, said he is not very concerned. “The parties are living organisms and processes take place inside them. The dangerousness of these disagreements inside the parties depends on their institutionalization level. Is it normal? Sure it is!” said the analyst. He noted that splits have recently occurred both on the left, inside the Communist Party, and on the right, inside the Liberal Party and the Liberal Democratic Party. “I would like these disagreements to exist, but to remain inside the party. The politicians must struggle inside parties,” he stated.
Igor Botan explained that the party is a vehicle that brings good people from civil society to politics. There are no other vehicles. If these are vehicles, most of us are drivers and we know that the vehicles must be looked after, even if we can be dissatisfied with them. He reminded about the visit to Moldova by Tony Blair’s former adviser, who told about the misunderstandings between Blair and Gordon Brown, underlining that the two cared for the party and took care not to undermine it. “The only fear is that these vehicles may suffer a breakdown,” stated Igor Botan.
Vlad Filat agreed with the political analyst. “There can be certain deviations, but we must all together insist that the limits should not be exceeded. The objective for the coming elections is to make sure that they are free and fair and that the people have the right to choose, not only to vote,” he stated.
The leaders of the other two parties of the Pro-European Coalition – the Democratic Party of Moldova and the Liberal Reformist Party – were also invited to the debate “Why does the electoral behavior of the Coalition count for the country’s European future?”.
The debate of September 26 is the 33rd of the series of public debates “Development of political culture in public debates”. IPN Agency has conducted these debates the third year with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation and in cooperation with Radio Moldova.
