Ministers reporting – the weakest one must go

{Feature taken from VIP MAGAZIN’s 100th issue, from September 2012} [Paradoxes] - When observed separately, each of the Government’s members give forth the image of a, more or less, accomplished solid political figure. However, the image of each of the Government’s members wanes, when observed as part of one whole, as the Cabinet of Ministers should logically be. Moreover, the ensemble image of the Government is much more obscure than the images of each of its members, taken one by one. This observation doesn’t refer only to the image of the Prime Minister, who dominates the image of each Minister, as well as of the whole Government. Is such a situation benefic for the country’s status quo and for its chances to improvement? If the situation within the Government and the country must be changed, is it more efficient to change several elements that seem weaker, or one “too powerful” element, or both, or neither? - In the case of some governmental sackings, natural and necessary in certain conditions, it is not certain that those who would leave, would be the weakest ones, as well as it is not necessarily true that those who would stay would be the strongest ones. Much will depend on the degree of influence that the current Minister has within his/her own political group, which delegated him/her to the Government, or better even, over the leader(s) of his/her political group. The form of influence may differ, depending on the level of professionalism, the degree of personal commitment, financial potential, friendship and relative relations, of the press’ perception of him/her, etc. The option that the dismissal of Ministers with stronger personal positions may be requested should not be excluded. Thus, eventual dismissals might as well be a trade between the AIE leaders: “I give (or won’t give) you the head of that and that Minister, if you ask for it, but who (or “what”) are giving me in return?”. According to general logic and to the logic of the “message for the nation”, launched by the Prime Minister over a year ago, precisely Vlad Filat will be the one to initiate Government dismissals. Taking into account these common aspects, the position of each member of the Cabinet of Ministers is perceived differently, especially by the representatives of the press. [Iuriea Leanca, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration] has the most certain position within the Government, albeit being the first and only Minister, during Moldova’s entire period of independence, all the more before it, to promise his own dismissal lest he obtained certain results by a certain deadline. It is long clear that he will not manage to keep his word, but it is as clear that the dismissal he will submit will not be accepted. This position is a result of personal professionalism, as well as that of the Ministry’s team, and his great support from abroad. All of this in spite of the frail support given to him within the country, where the reform process evolves tediously, if evolving at all. He manages to stay within the limits official relations with the press, which has not registered the Minister’s involvement in any scandals, even verbal ones, which is quite the rarity for Moldovan politics. Perhaps, with certain exceptions, he does pick up his cellular when called to offer comments on “hot” topics, and the press does not tax him for doing so. The press service, albeit incomplete lately, manages to keep a good image of the chief of Moldovan diplomacy. In the polls that I participated in, as expert, until now I have always graded the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration with the maximum grade – 10. [Valeriu Lazar, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy] is active and mobile, with a busy and diverse daily public agenda. He has the image of a modern politician, with modern visions, well thought of, it seems, by foreign observers. Nevertheless, he may be the first or among the first Ministers, of the current Government, to be disposed of. Several months ago, he launched statements that, in order work more efficiently within the Government, he may drop his position with the Democratic Party (PDM). Coincidentally, or not, the statement was made on the eve of the “reformatory congress” of the PDM, that appointed the “new” leadership of the Party. Coincidentally, or not, immediately after the congress, PDM Senior Vice-president Vlad Plahotniuc, the person behind the Party’s reform, gave a rather clear allusion in this sense. “We delegate people to the Executive, which gives them certain responsibilities, but we have situations when they forget about the objectives the Party promised to the people. Precisely for this reason, according to the reform plan, the PDM Vice-presidents will not be part of the Government”, said Plahotniuc. A Party Vice-president has a certain value and a certain dergree of closeness to the Party’s leader(s). Without this title, the person becomes a “mere Minister” or even a “mere Deputy Minister”. All this goes alongside the fact that Valeriu Lazar allowed himself to get caught up in the middle of the old disputes between Filat and Plahotniuc, choosing one of the sides. It seems that his relations with the Premier have improved recently. I believe such people are described as “one of us among strangers, and a stranger among his own folk”. Coincidentally, or not, in the same period, Valeriu Lazar undertook several additional actions for getting closer to the press, and especially to opinion leaders within the press. Valeriu Lazar deserves a strong 8. [Eugen Carpov, Deputy Prime Minister,] is one of the people who is associated with the (relatively) good evolvement of things in the negotiations for the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. He is rather open in his public life, is in good relations with the press, answers his cellular when called. But these are not the reasons for which he will not leave the Government. A similar image, if not a better one, had Victor Osipov, who had the same position during the AIE 1 Government, but did not make to the AIE 2 Cabinet. According to the AIE algorithm, this post goes to Vlad Filat’s Party, and Vlad Filat already dismissed some of his own Ministers, thus ensuring his right to only request dismissals from the coalition partners, and not offer them. And then again, who of the partners would claim such a position, which brings only headaches: no money, no image, no foreseeable results...The Minister of Reintegration gets an 8. [Mihai Moldovanu, Deputy Prime Minister,] is also active and dynamic, always in activities and meetings with a lot of people and a lot of problems. He manages to keep a good relation with the press, answer cellular calls. But he is also one of the candidates to be dismissed, because the real, concrete results, which are visible to the citizens, of any governance, can be especially seen, if not exclusively, in the segment ruled by the social sphere. And the real, concrete, visible results are late, in the least. As a rule, “scapegoats” are needed at certain stages. Meanwhile, the position he has may save him, because few politicians want it, due to the aformentioned reasons. Such positions are usually offered to the opposition, in the case of large coalitions, dubbed “national salvation coalitions”, or to partners with fewer mandates, in the case of narrower coalitions. He gets a 7. [Veaceslav Negruta, Minister of Finance] will keep his position, for several reasons. [First:] One of his closest, hierarchy-wise, subordinates has already been fired, i.e. the head of the Main State Tax Inspectorate, for sever problems in the accumulation of taxes to the Budget, thus, for the privation of the government of real instruments for improving the situation in the country. If it were the case, “the head” of the Minister would’ve fallen either before or concomitantly with that of the Tax chief. [Second:] The position belongs to the PLDM and Vlad Filat already did his dismissals. A new Minister, who would need many months to understand the order of things, at the most important Ministry in all regards, would create the Prime Minister severe problems, and it is obvious that he doesn’t want them. [Third:] the Minister of Finance is less open in his public life and this aspect, paradoxically, ensures the continuity of his career. His luck, and misfortune at the same time, is that most of the Moldovan press doesn’t really understand and, it seems, doesn’t want to understand finance, or economics, as a whole. Our press would rather feed of the remains of real and fictional scandals, than penetrate the problems of public finance. Thus, not only there is almost no evidence that the Minister does his job very well, but also there is no one who could publicly complain about him. Maintaining the tensions between the Government and the business community is one of the great responsibilities of the current Minister of Finance, who did not know how to loosen them. He gets a 7. [Oleg Efrim, Minister of Justice] has chances not only to stay in the Government, but also to write history. He is active and is a man of principle, show his character every now and then, challenging representatives of the justice system, either by revoking some notary’s license, either by pulling out a judge involved in raider attacks. We can suppose it is not easy for him to do such things, because, again supposedly, the system puts up a great resistance. And since he will not be replaced with another person in the foreseeable future (due to the Second point of the article above, since the Minister of Justice ranks second importance-wise, after the Finances one), Oleg Efrim is sentenced to complete the long promised and long awaited justice reform, at least on the segment he manages; or at least to publicly state why he cannot do it (or because of whom), if he cannot do it. He is open to the press, including direct inquiries, by cellular. He also has a rather good press service. As a result he gets a 9. [Dorin Recean, Minister of Interior,] along with the Minister of Education, will be the last Minister to be dismissed from the body of the current Government, since he was only recently appointed, along with the Minister of Education. For now, he seems to know what he is doing, albeit not specialized in this field. He made it clear that the Moldovan MoI reform has many tangencies to the reform of the Georgian police. Over there, in one day in August 2004, 15,000 police and state auto inspectorate officers were fired. For now, it is unclear how open he is to the press, but it is known that he sacked some of the personnel that dealt with PR. He gets something between a 7 and an 8, as an advance. [Vitalie Marinuta, Minister of Defense] is firmly promoting defense policies following the European and American model. He will not be dismissed due to the support he most likely gets from European and Americans. At least, the Premier does not want an additional problem on his mind in his relations with foreign partners and financers. Albeit being personally involved in selling weapons to a certain CIS country, thus deteriorating relations with another CIS country, he does not risk the same fate as Valeriu Pasat, another Minister of Defense, who did jail time for the supposed fraudulent selling of MIG planes. Neither Pasat, nor Marinuta, and nobody else for that matter, can sell weaponry without notifying their supperiors, who are the highest ranking people in the state. In the worst case, if some laws or international agreements are breached, jail time should be given to the executors, as well as those who approved the transaction. Although less as of recent, he is quite active in the public field, on social networks, takes care of his image by strengthening the Ministry’s press service. He gets an 8. [Marcel Raducan, Minister of Regional Development and Constructions,] is half open, half obscure, when talking about his public life. Similar is the order of things in the branch he leads. On the eve of this year’s Constructors’ Day, the Minister himself admitted that the situation in the branch is not the one he desires, but is not as bad as two years ago, or even a year ago. “Everything is relative, we have much to do, the situation is not as good as we want it to be, but is not very bad either”, said Marcel Raducan. Meanwhile, the Minister claims that the branch had a sizeable 9% growth from the begining of the year. This means that either previously the level was very low, which is also the fault of the Minister, and thus the relative high growth, or the Minister cannot sell his “product”, i.e. his image. Both explanations may tip the scales, if his position becomes the “object of political trade”. He gets a 7. [Vasile Bumacov, Minister of Agriculture,] behaves and reacts as a politician, although he often claims that he is not and does not want to be a politician. He does well in agricultural policies, knows what he wants and how to get it. Perhaps this is why he managed to preserve his firm positions, despite the drought and other recent natural calamities, as well as despite pressure in the form of protests by some of the farmers. He is very sociable, especially in relation to the press, knows how to maintain his image, including through the press service, as well as directly, including answering phone calls “at any hour of the day and night”. He frequently attends the press clubs of the journalism elite, and sometimes, “mentors” them. He gets a 9. [Anatolie Salaru, Minister of Transports and Road Infrastructure] may be one of the first Ministers asked to leave, but it is not a given that he will actually leave. Despite recent silence, the rumors on the lack of understanding between him and the Prime Minister make Vlad Filat’s actions in this sense quite foreseeable. It is true that Mihai Ghimpu, the superior of the Minister within the Party, is as foreseeable in this case. There have been even smaller stakes for which the PL leader threatened to leave the AIE. It is unlikely that a Minister who manages millions of euros, especially foreign funded money, will be sacrificed. A new person, eventually also from the PL, would take too much time to take control of these cash flows. And there is not much time, since the next Parliamentary elections are drawing close. He is too obedient of his press service, which prohibits him from giving journalists his cellular number. That is a pity, because he is back in the big politics due to the public image that he obtained through adressing the masses directly, as well as through the press. He gets a 7. [Gheorghe Salaru, Minister of Environment,] is an intelligent, cultivated, and open Minister, just as a veritable environmentalist should be. He is less of a politician, and takes less care of his political image. Both of these traits reflect the status quo of his branch, and may tip the scales if his dismissal is requested. His Party leader, Mihai Ghimpu, may lack levers and interest to save him. He gets a 7. [Maia Sandu, Minister of Education,] also left the impression that she knows what she wants. Several hours after her appointment, she obtained the Government’s approval to increase the Ministry’s personnel, at a time when everyone is requested to cut personnel. However, it is not yet clear whether she knows how to get what she wants. At least, she could be put in the situation to count on the support of the press less. She avoided from the very beginning, at least in the case of some journalists, to give out her cellular number, and gave theoretical justifications for it: “Where have you seen Minister from other countries to communicate directly with the press? There is a press service for that.” It is true the Ministry’s press service is a dynamic and modern one. But the Minister, it seems, does not yet know what every Journalism (and Communication Sciences) student learns from his freshman year: journalism and communication are very different things, and one cannot replace the other. Employees of the press services are (public) functionaries of the institution, and have the exclusive task of image making, or to inform, within the limits favorable to the image of the Ministry and Minister; this is what they earn a salary for. Press that respects itself cannot accept everything that is served to them as PR, because it has another task: to put forth to public judgement even those things that the authorities want to hide. Besides, in any country, the function of a Minister is political par excellence, and implies maximum openness, especially the direct kind, not just the kind intermediated by the press services. Plus, what is permissible, for several reasons, for example, to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in terms of transparency, is not permissible to the Minister of Education, for example. It is true that current press services from most of the Ministries are active and modern in their communication, when compared to the Communist governing period, which has its own advantages and disadvantages: the manipulation of the masses has become more professional. In these conditions, the role of veritable press rises as well. She gets a 7, as an advance. [Boris Focsa, Minister of Culture] should really leave. Maybe he is a good man and Minister, who perhaps out of mere bad luck failed to avoid several scandals, after which Ministers from other countries leave voluntarily. This includes the Traffic Police scandal, that with the “head mistress of the cabinet”. By the way, a grand Artist of the Folk, from the National Opera, complained in a press conference that the Minister’s secretary hangs up on him, refusing to communicate. Are the “cabinet head mistresses” and “secretaries” tougher than the Minister? Or maybe they represent him? Besides, the lack of will or capacity to manage the conflict situation which has divided the most theater in the country for several year now speaks for itself. Although the Minister of Culture personally answers the press’ calls, his press service is more inexistent than active, from the press’ point of view. Due to the abovementioned, he gets a 6. [Valentina Buliga, Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family,] will remain, must remain, and cannot leave this position. Both for being very open and efficient at her job, and for having been the only woman in the current governmental team for a very long time; also, because there would be very few men who would want this quite uncomfortable chair for themselves. As another female ex-Minister, Valentina Badrajan, said in reference to a situation which she had to go through along with another female public employee: “We thank our people’s men for trusting us, two worthy women, with this mission”. The two “worthy women” brought, several years ago, several sacks of valueable papers, summing to over several million dollars, from Moscow, in a regular train car, without bodyguards. The worthy Ministress gets an 8. [Andrei Usatii, Minister of Healthcare] also has the image of a man who is active, dynamic, efficient, especially on the line of collaboration with international bodies that helped realize several sizeable projects in Moldova. He is approachable by the press, including on his cellular, which hints to the capacity of swift appraisal of the situation, and of taking decision in unstandard situation. He actively maintains his press service. However, he does not yet have full credibility in the point of view of the society and the press, due to the fact that the aforementioned international projects do not weigh much for the general situation in the field, and perhaps, for a certain dose of insincerity that he allows himself. The recent dismissal of Deputy Minister Mihai Magdei, “in accordance to the request submitted”, when Magdei found out about his dismissal from the press, could be relevant in this sense. Due to the qualities mentioned above, as well as due to “the Second point”, he will not leave the Government during the next wave of dismissals. He gets an 8. [Ion Cebanu, Minister of Youth and Sports] could also be one of the candidates for leaving, albeit being active, dynamic and open. The reasons may be the same as in the case of Minister of Environment Gheorghe Salary. He gets a 7. [Pavel Filip, Minister of Infomation Technologies and Communications] will not be sacrificed by the leaders of his Party, even if the Prime Minister or anyone else would request the dismissal. It is not exactly certain, which means that this is how the press sees the Minister, at least, if this would happend due to his professionalism in the current position. It can be told, firmly, that in this case the references from above can be valid, i.e. the ones regarding the flows of a wealthy Ministry, close Parliamentary elections, which the PDM foresaw earliest out of all AIE political groups. He gets a 7. [Valeriu Vasilica, Info-Prim Neo director, for VIP Magazin] {[Info-Prim Neo note:] Warm and hearty congratulations to the colleagues from VIP MAGAZIN for this 100th issue of the magazine. Congratulations and praises for having approached, several years ago, a field almost inexistent, in the direct meaning of the word, in Moldova back then. Congratulations as well for when in lack of real models they had created many of the aspects of the VIP phenomenon in Moldova, thus fixing high benchmarks, which the Moldovan society is and will be obligated to follow.}