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Retrospective of a crisis. On the verge of collapse

The beginning of 2013 was marked by a deep political crisis that could have led to early parliamentary elections, while the current government would have experienced a crushing defeat in the polls. The politicians realized yet the risk and overcame the internal misunderstandings. As a result, at the end of November Moldova initialed the Association Agreement with the EU, with the European Commission recommending liberalizing the visa regime for Moldovans. The articles of the series “Retrospective of a crisis. On the verge of collapse” aim to anticipate how the events of 2013 will influence people’s options next year, which is an electoral one, and to formulate conclusions.

Negotiations to form new government  

After the fall of the Filat Government, on March 5 President Nicolae Timofti summoned the leaders of the three parties that formed the Alliance for European Integration – Vlad Filat (PLDM), Marian Lupu (PDM) and Mihai Ghimpu (PL) –  so as to indentify a solution to the crisis.

The Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) said it was ready for dialogue, but underlined that for the political crisis to be overcome, the negotiations must be held without conditions. “The PLDM considers that we must find solutions and ways by which to ensure the continuation of the democratic reforms, without ultimatum-like approaches,” Vlad Filat said after the meeting of party’s Council. However, the PLDM insisted that Vlad Filat should hold the post of Premier.

Marian Lupu said he was ready to tender his resignation from the post of Head of Parliament if this was crucial for the new model of re-forming the government. “I do not hold my post tight and I’m ready to take the seat of MP if this will help. I’m ready to take such a step if we ensure efficient government that would solve this multitude of economic and social problems and would ensure a real European reform,” he stated.

Mihai Ghimpu announced that the Liberal Party (PL) will not vote for Vlad Filat as Prime Minister. “The vote of no confidence was given not to the Cabinet, but to the Premier for abuse of power, traffic of influence, corruption and smuggling,” he said, adding that Vlad Filat cannot apply for the post of Premier after he denounced the agreement on the formation of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI).

The negotiations on the creation of a new parliamentary majority started one month after the denunciation of the AEI agreement, on March 13. The former alliance colleagues were to agree a candidate for the post of Prime Minister.

President proposes candidate

On April 10, 2013, President Nicolae Timofti fielded Vlad Filat for premiership. In a press briefing, the head of state said that one person was proposed for the post of Premier as a result of the negotiations held with the leaders of the AEI. The group of MPs who took part in the negotiations admitted that the PLDM had the right to suggest a candidate for premiership.

On April 11, a group of Liberal MPs submitted a challenge to the Constitutional Court, asking verifying the constitutionality of the presidential decree on the designation of Vlad Filat as a candidate for premiership.

Split inside the Liberal Party

An ad-hoc Council for Reforming the Liberal Party on April 12 demanded that the party return to the negotiating table and call the party’s extraordinary congress where to promote Dorin Chirtoaca as leader of the PL. The next day, the National Council of the Liberal Party voted for the exclusion of five MPs from the party, including first deputy chairman of the PL Ion Hadarca and secretary general Oleg Bodrug. MPs Ana Gutu, Anatol Arhire and Vadim Vacarciuc were also excluded from the party. The Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu said then that the ‘traitors’ do not aim to reform the party, but to vote Vlad Filat in as Prime Minister.

The Liberal reformers headed by Ion Hadarca announced that they will vote for Vlad Filat as Premier.

While the politicians were looking for solutions to install the new government, on April 18 Corneliu Gurin was elected as prosecutor general of Moldova by the votes of 51 MPs. He was proposed to the post the same day by Speaker Marian Lupu. The Communist and Liberal MPs and the group of Dodon didn’t vote for Gurin. In his speech, Corneliu Gurin said he will not allow political influence to be exerted on the prosecution service.

Decision of the Constitutional Court

On April 22, the Constitutional Court pronounced on the challenge filed by the Liberals, saying the presidential decree proposing Vlad Filat for premiership was unconstitutional as the Government was dismissed by a censure motion on suspicion of acts of corruption and was unable to fulfill its duties. The next day, the head of state put forward Iurie Leanca for the post of acting Premier.

On April 25, Speaker Marian Lupu was removed by the votes of 76 MPs, at the suggestion of the Communist faction. Only the Democrats and the Liberals led by Mihai Ghimpu didn’t take part in the voting.

Viorel Cibotaru: three dimensions of the crisis

Political analyst Viorel Cibotaru commented for IPN on the events that maintained the political crisis. According to him, in order to understand what happened, things should be regarded through three dimensions. The first is political – the situation in which every party was after the dismissal of the Government. The Democratic Party acted as it acted because it was afraid not to be removed from power as it could be irreversibly eliminated from the game. The goal of the Communists was clear – the worse the situation inside the ruling alliance, the better for them. The Liberal Party in this situation was in a difficult position as it had to choose between the two partners – the PLDM and the PDM. The Liberals tried to defend their own political interests and more often formed coalitions with the PDM against the PLDM.

The second dimension was the personal – individual one – clash of characters for political rating, for becoming a national leader. The decision to remove Vlad Plahotniuc from the post of First Deputy Speaker was based not on political interests or the competition between the PDM and the PLDM, but on personal interests and certain spheres of influence.

The third dimension is the geopolitical factor that had a rather great influence. The success and weight of the players inside the alliance and at national level were supported by the relations with the EU. These relations determined the terms for taking certain decisions and affected the positions of certain political players.

Filat – Plahotniuc

The PLDM wanted to remove the controversial businessman Vlad Plahotniuc from power. The fact that Plahotniuc was in power bothered Vlad Filat and this conflict represented a driving force of the crisis. According to the public opinion, Vlad Plahotniuc had a negative image, no matter whether he was responsible for the raider attacks on banks or not or whether he had connections with the criminal world or not. This image was fueled by multiple statements. Vlad Filat, as a Premier and party leader and as a person who wanted to show that he wants to fight corruption, decided to take a first step by removing Plahotniuc from a high-ranking post.

Viorel Cibotaru considers that the April 22 decision of the Constitutional Court contributed to the escalation of the crisis as it banned Vlad Filat from applying for premiership. The PLDM made unexpected concessions when the Filat Government 3 was negotiated. Despite all the clashes, in April the politicians reached an agreement so as to avoid early elections. But the Constitutional Court’s decision destroyed everything. No party had political dividends as a result of this decision.

Parties will win if they do not struggle between them

Things in politics can be repaired, said the analyst. Each of the parties was affected by the crisis. Filat, Plahotniuc and Ghimpu sustained similar losses and must now rebuild their image. When the interpersonal factor was eliminated, things advanced. New cooperation relations were established between the parties. The quality of governance and the people’s attitude improved.

The results of the next year’s elections can be decisively influenced if this cooperation is strengthened and improved and rivalry is honest. The politicians must not fight between them and accuse each other as none of them will gain from this and this thing was already seen.
 
The politicians should learn the lesson and go in the elections together as they will not achieve much separately. Viorel Cibotaru said that during four years we witnessed the premature birth of the child of the Alliance for European Integration – on April 7, 2009. This child grew up rapidly and we now see an elderly man called the Pro-European Coalition. This man must make effort to remain in form, as the Communist Party. No matter what the Communists do or not do, they have their voters. The coalition lost its voters and now should regain their confidence. The people can also learn something from the crisis. They must understand that the politicians change in time. They cannot be measured by the scales of 2009. They became more hypocritical, more sophisticated and wiser.

Mariana Galben