Chirtoaca’s First 100 Days as Mayor. Info-Prim Neo Review, PART I

Since the last local elections, the News Agency Info-Prim Neo has reported on the activity of the new Chisinau administration more than any other media agency. We wrote systematically and permanently, covering a large variety of topics. We reported on data, facts, actions, statements. Unlike the other press agencies that wrote about the authorities and events in Chisinau, we did not have materials based solely on opinions, own or foreign, we did not comment on the situation that is not at all simple. It is a tradition of the democratic societies to leave the new administrations work undisturbed during the first 100 days of the appointment. On October 6, it was 100 days of the election of the new Mayor General of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca. But ... the procedure of investing the mayoral office as executive authority finished only on October 11 by the appointment of the deputy mayors, which was followed by the distribution of duties among the team members on October 23. A new, functional Chisinau Municipal Council as decision-making authority of the capital city began to work also on October 11. The de facto inexistence of CMC until that moment strongly influenced the activity and image of the Mayor. Observing the tradition of the 100 days, Info-Prim Neo starts a series of analysis of the performance of Chisinau administration designated after the last local elections. [First public appearance – significance] The new mayor came to the first meeting of the City Hall with visible signs of a sleepless night on the face. Sitting on the chair in front of the room, a little stooped for his height, he gave the impression that he did not belong to that place with dozens of municipal functionaries and managers of different political colours, experience and administered financial potential looking at him, and that he was not comfortable in his suit that seemed not his size, but larger. At a certain moment, it turned out that he knew what he came there for and what post he held. The questions he put to the rapporteurs were exact, correct, clearly formulated. The shock was probably reciprocal because the head of the finance division Valentina Vazdautan could not understand the question repeated several times: “...so, what are the municipal budget’s debts at the moment, if taking into account the credits too?” Some of the questions made the attending functionaries smile, but these questions constituted a new approach to the problems, of the ordinary Chisinau resident: why is it so dirty in the buses and minibuses; why they stop far from the station; why there are no rubbish bins; why the water was flowing at certain intersections, etc. During the 100 days, the position of the ordinary Chisinau resident continued to be present in the hall, but there were signs that it began to grow weaker. The new mayors are also offered cars, whose tinted windows would often blur the picture of the city. The new mayors are getting used to the office and they are recognized when they contact the municipal dispatcher’s offices and ask for something and this problem is solved as for a mayor and not as for an ordinary citizen. [The individuality in collective frame] Though he coped with the first meeting rather well, the situation affected the new mayor. It seems that he has not yet recovered. To get rid of the impression that he is alone in front of the functionaries present in the hall and of the serious problems on which these were reporting, he placed a semicircular table for the many mayors of the settlements that form part of the municipality at his back. Probably, to feel safer. In the meantime, he understood it was a bad move and tried to rectify it but did it even worse. He went to sit at the same table, where there is not much place and it is not clear who and what role is playing. Some of the mayors realized that the situation was ridiculous and tacitly went back to sit in the hall. The things not only appear to be uneasy. This superposition of “mayors’ team” onto “functionaries’ team” does not please the mayors, who have to maintain good relations with all the functionaries and not only with the Mayor General. Moreover, “mayors’ team”, which sticks to unclear principles, does not support and protect Dorin Chirtoaca as he expected. From political standpoint, most of the suburban mayors are the Mayor General’s opponents and this should be taken into account. In addition, the voters chose him for his distinct personality, for his individuality. The image counts and great risks appear if it is neglected from the start. [Activities with finality] A mayor of a capital city cannot solve the host of problems in several tens of days, especially in the absence of the main instruments stipulated by the law: City Council, deputy mayors, district heads, and others. But all this also made a positive contribution. The heating season in Chisinau, for instance, started without delay. The supply of heat in Chisinau, and not only, is a serious problem because the system is extremely worn out, the pricing policy is inadequate, many groups of people are unable to pay the heating charges etc. A new mayor encounters serious difficulties from the very beginning. The decision of the PCRM and PPCD factions of the previous CMC to cover part of the heating costs for the population from the local budget, which was made before the local elections, would be a ticking bomb. They knew very well that there was no money in the budget, but went for it despite all risks involved. The political plan was simple: if the former governmental coalition won the elections, the central authorities, supposedly on the instruction of the head of state, would make a gesture of goodwill and allocate the funds from the state budget. Otherwise, the first heating season was to be the last season of local government for the Opposition parties. The given scheme was strategically devised long time ago. The heat supplier “Termocom” SA sued the local authorities for not paying the debts. The authority that was to deal with the given problem - CMC - was not yet set up and it was not known when and if it will appear as the functionaries were playing the game of political puppets. Dorin Chirtoaca assumed the risk and transferred the first instalment of 50 million lei to the heat supplier, knowing very well that he was exceeding his authority. According to some reports, his act was and is probably still investigated by prosecutors. On the one hand, Termocom accepted the money and spent it without respecting a verbal agreement to transfer part of it to the water supplier “Apa-Canal Chisinau” SA. On the other hand, the head of Termocom Dionisie Antocel said that the money was transferred illegally. He made the statements the same day and for the same television channel, NIT, where President Vladimir Voronin stated that early elections would be held in Chisinau because the new local elections are incompetent. [Punishment for Termocom and not only] Termocom played the main part in this performance. In the old dispute between the central and local authorities of the capital, it always takes the part of the strongest. A court trial would have ruined financially and administratively the City Hall and the Mayor General. The battle could be won only by removing the main player. While he was alone, Chirtoaca tried to implement a number of stratagems. He made it clear that Antocel and his company would be laid off if Termocom was taken over by the City Hall. The most severe blow was yet the initiation of serious talks over the reduction in heating charges in the CMC. Termocom would have been in a serious condition if the decision to reduce the charges had been made and the heat supplier would have been to blame if the heating season had not started in time. Most probably, the municipal authorities will not use such a weapon against Termocom, maintaining instead a powerful lever in the dispute with the central authorities. It should be noted that CMC was created on October 11, while Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca signed the ordinance to start the heating season on October 13. Termocom fulfilled the order “as agreed and without delay”. [This was one of the few if not the only activity with finality of the new mayor of Chisinau in the first 100 days. The second part of the series of Info-Prim Neo analysis will be about other activities without finality, but important by their purpose and potential, and about other steps taken by the mayor. It will be published during the next days].