Flaws in organization of Merkel’s visit

The organization of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit in Chisinau was appreciated as successful, but not without flaws on both the Moldovan and the German side. Communication consultant Olga Nicolenco reviewed the Chancellor’s visit for Info-Prim Neo. “Overall, I find the organization satisfactory. We proved we can organize, mobilize, and show perseverance and that we can host a person of Angela Merkel’s rank. But all this organization was for a few days only. I think such visits should mobilize us for permanent organization”, thinks Olga Nicolenco. The communication expert noticed some protocol and diplomatic blunders committed by Prime Minister Vlad Filat. “At the press conference, when Merkel answered the journalists’ questions, I wanted to hear only her words, without the comments and additions of the Prime Minister. Merkel is not the person whose speech you should worry about. I just wanted to hear what the German official had to say, because what Vlad Filat told us we already knew. If his interventions were better, the journalists might have had the chance to ask more questions, because there were too few for such an event”, said Olga Nicolenco. Another issue, according to the expert, is related to the leaders’ skills in non-verbal communication. “Vlad Filat wagging his finger, a gesture of interdiction, reminded me of a Romanian Minister who made an approval gesture at the meeting with the Spanish King, but was still considered a protocol blunder. In our case, I consider Filat’s gesture a protocol blunder, made in public, very expressive, with head shaking. It wasn’t very diplomatic, really”, Olga Nicolenco commented on the Prime Minister Vlad Filat’s gesture that warned the German official against getting closer to the crowd that wanted to salute her. A good thing done by Moldovan authorities was to reduce the traffic restrictions. Previously, when high officials came the traffic was paralyzed in half of the city. However, this time it was better organized. “I liked that after the end, Minister Recean (Minister of the Interior Dorin Recean, Ed.) came with a message of thankfulness, although I think it would’ve been better if it was the Prime Minister who thanked the people”, said the communication expert. On Germany’s side, the main blunder was their interpreter. “The translation was horrible. For me, the tone matters, but here there wasn’t any at all. The translation affected the image of this visit”, concluded the expert. Angela Merkel was in Chisinau for about 7 hours. She was met at the airport by Prime Minister Vlad Filat, by his deputies and the chief negotiator in the relation with the EU. The Chancellor also met with President Nicolae Timofti and the leaders of the parliamentary parties, and then delivered a speech at the Palace of the Republic. Before leaving, she visited the Cricova wineries, where she received a gift of 460 bottles of wine.