At what stage of its historical development does Moldova find itself on the eve of its 24th anniversary from economic, political and social points of view? Is the development process normal, fast, slow? What are the lessons we have learned and those we are yet to learn? What are the short-term and long-term prospects of Moldovan society? These are the questions IPN is trying to answer through a series of articles titled “Moldova at 24 years of age: Who are we? Where are we going?”, by speaking to experts from different fields.
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Alexei Tulbure, political pundit and director of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, says that most people associate independence with emancipation, development, progress and well-being, but it is not always like that. “Moldova, so enthusiastic and optimistic in the 90s, when proclaiming its independence 24 years ago, now is the poorest European country, without any prospects. Despite the many declarations and agreements signed, including the EU Association Agreement, we find ourselves in a disastrous situation because of the corrupt political elites”, says the analyst.
According to him, we failed in 24 years to create independent institutions capable of doing their job. We have weak civil society, servile mass-media, the state is captured and everyone recognizes this. “I don't think this is because of independence. For others, this created new possibilities and prospects, like in the Baltic countries. The problem resides within us, within our mentality and incapacity to generate responsible political elites, to develop civil society institutions that would control and limit the actions of those in power. We cannot participate in the act of governance with initiatives, we cannot control this act and cannot interact with the government. We can only passively participate in elections. We have shown over 24 years that we are unable to govern ourselves”, said Tulbure.
The local political class is divided between pro-West and pro-Russia and this divides society as well. The Moldovan's tendency, from the President and the MPs to ordinary people, to search for solutions abroad, at Brussels, Bucharest, Washington or Moscow is a clear indicator of our inability of self-management.
“European integration as well. We hoped it would change things, but we perceived it the wrong way. Politicians said we had to keep on the European road because sometime, in the future, it would bring some benefits, but they wanted EU integration without reforms. We haven't seen any reforms since 2009, when this became the official goal of the government. The political class looked for governance models that would minimize our participation and would increase the importance of foreign factors”, explained Tulbure.
He believes Moldova didn't have an elite to fight for independence. “I remember the politicians' speeches back then. In the eve of the putsch in Moscow, they were saying that the objective and subjective conditions for independence in Moldova weren't ripe and that the goal we had to fight for was larger autonomy within the USSR. A week later, we were forced by circumstances to declare our independence. We lacked a political class prepared for the new requirements of the state. Somebody else decided for us. We became independent and lost the reputation of a peaceful and flourishing land, becoming an economic and social disaster”, said Tulbure. As further proof of Moldova's lack of progress, he quoted the secretary of the Council of Europe, of which Moldova has been a member for 19 years, who labeled our country “a captured state”.
“After 24 years of independence, we must ask ourselves if we are capable of self-management, to form a country with a responsible political elite and instruments of progress. We must understand that nobody will produce changes for us if we don't do it ourselves, in which case this disastrous situation will continue and we might even lose our independence. We have to find new politicians, raise them, support them and then foreign assistance will become efficient. People aren't currently against European integration and a better quality of life, they are against those who steal from us”, says Alexei Tulbure. The pundit says he knows people educated abroad, with political ambitions and European or even Euro-Atlantic mentalities, people who cannot be bought. He thinks these people are able to put an end to corruption, but they need to be helped to enter the political scene.
Mariana Galben, IPN
