2015 will be the year of mainly unpopular, but necessary reforms and reaping the harvest before the completion of the future mandate will be a challenge for the next government. The administration will also have to swiftly transform the Association Agreement commitments into tangible benefits for the ordinary people and the business community of Moldova, economic expert Constanta Popescu says in the study “Reform agenda versus electoral cycles: challenges for 2015” that was launched by the Independent Analytical Center “Exper-Grup”, IPN reports.
The author said that a standard electoral cycle in Moldova lasts for four years. In general, many of the reforms, mainly unpopular ones, are done by the politicians during the first and second year of the coming to power. Primarily popular reforms are implemented during the fourth year of government, such as rises in salaries, pensions and benefits and reductions in taxes, which often subject the state budget to maximum pressure.
Constanta Popescu said that the period between 2009 and 2014 was marked by the early parliamentary elections. It was a difficult period with shorter than usual electoral cycles. A number of reforms, both popular and unpopular, were done, but some of the necessary reforms were postponed until 2015. One of the multiple advantages of the Association Agreement with the EU is the fact that it will be implemented during ten years. Thus, it covers reform commitments for almost three consecutive electoral mandates (2014 – 2023).
The expert noted that the order and consistency of the internal reforms in Moldova in this period will depend less on the influence of the political class and civil society and the media as well as the opposition or extraparliamentary parties will be able to easier monitor the implementation of these reforms. Furthermore, the harsher effect of some of the difficult reforms will be offset by the access to the EU market and the technical and financial assistance provided by the European Commission.
Constanta Popescu underlined that the unpopular reforms can be easily transformed into popular ones by ensuring good communication as regards the taken decisions and the expected benefits.
