This winter will be tough, but the bad news is that the spring will not be easy either, given that Moldova does not see any economic growth and businesses continue to struggle, Socialist MP Vladimir Odnostalko said during an IPN debate on Monday. According to the opposition lawmaker, the energy bills support scheme rolled out by the Government will not improve people’s lives, whose real incomes he says have decreased by 15% since PAS took power.
Odnostalko says he “feels solidarity” with Ukrainian citizens, but thinks that the priority of the Moldovan government should be to increase the standard of living for Moldovans, “not geopolitical aspects”.
“The main slogan of the ruling party used to be ‘Good Times’. Now nobody talks about it anymore, because now ‘good times’ are associated with hunger, cold and fear of tomorrow. The money for the compensation scheme is from loans. Prime Minister Gavrilița talked about 400 million euros in loans in 2022. It’s money that we will have to pay back. Today the government calls these loans compensation money, but tomorrow we will have to take from people’s taxes to pay them back”, claimed Vladimir Odnostalko.
The Socialist lawmaker criticized the current government for what he says is an attempt to put the blame for the crises facing Moldova on the previous governments. He also criticized the decision to condemn the military aggression in Ukraine, saying that siding with someone involved in the war “does not solve people’s problems”.
“I am surprised by the rhetoric of government representatives who say that nothing has been done for 30 years. Guys, where have your leaders been all this time? They were in government! In one year, the government lowered people’s standard of living by 10 years, the real income of the people decreased by at least 15%. People are wondering how they will get through this winter. But what’s worse is that the spring won’t be a relief either, given how businesses are struggling. Blaming others is not a solution to existing problems. If we analyze objectively, Georgia is much more prepared for the status of a candidate country for accession than the Republic of Moldova. But Georgia did not join the sanctions against the Russian Federation, they trade energy resources, and according to IMF forecasts, Georgia’s economy is growing. That’s why let’s deal less with politics and more with the needs of the citizens”, said Odnostalko.
The debate was the 268th installment of the Political Culture Series, run by IPN with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
