A set of keys to voter’s heart, Nicolae Negru

The campaign for the November 28 early legislative elections takes place at an inexplicably slow pace, but the situation may change if the election contenders find a set of keys to voters’ hearts, especially to the hearts of the undecided voters, analyst Nicolae Negru, editorialist of the media trust “Jurnal”, said in the debate program “Full stop and from the very beginning” on Radio Free Europe, when assessing the quality of the election campaign. “Form my viewpoint, the election campaign started with inexplicable slowness. Maybe the election contenders got tired or the parties of the ruling Alliance for European Integration (AEI) think they do not need to pay field trips and do other more spectacular things. As far as I know, the Communists Party did not stop going to villages, meeting voters and disseminating information that discredits the governing alliance. But I also do not see actions that will motivate the youth, who ensured the victory of the then Opposition parties in the previous elections,” said Nicolae Negru. The analyst finds resemblance between the behavior of the AEI parties in the current election campaign and that from the campaign for the September 5 constitutional referendum. “They did not make effort then to persuade the people to vote in the referendum. This time, they again do not motivate the voters to take part in elections. The messages are banal and rather unconvincing. They do not inspire the people and do not make them enthusiastic. I don’t see creativity,” he said. Nicolae Negru also said that the message addressed to the target group – the undecided – is very important in the current campaign: “Why are they undecided? Because they are dissatisfied with all the political forces. A way should be found to convince these persons, to motivate them. “The surveys are a problem in our elections. It is already a month since the campaign started, but there was conducted no survey. If we say we are a modern political party and head for Europe, let’s borrow Europeans’ methods, approaches and technologies.” Nicolae Negru said society remains divided into two camps – communist and anti-communist. “This division becomes deeper and this is rather serious. If the rules of the game are respected, cooperation in the future Parliament is possible, but the bases of this cooperation should be laid before and in the election campaign. Now I cannot see how the Communists Party may cooperate with the Alliance. In fact, they said they do not want to form an alliance with a member party of the AEI. Thus, this possibility was excluded from the very beginning,” he stated. The analyst believes yet that political reconciliation in the future legislative body can be achieved in certain circumstances, depending on the method by which the problem of election of the head of state will be solved. He considers that a candidate that is not involved in direct political activities and has human and professional abilities recognized by everyone might be supported by all the parties that will enter Parliament. According to Nicolae Negru, the amorphous atmosphere of the election campaign can be changed radically during the remaining month. “It depends on how the parties will act. The polls show the percentage of undecided voters is high. One should know how to persuade them,” he said, stressing the messages about European integration are insufficient for this.