The political culture and education are elements that the Republic of Moldova should learn from Germany. “Our problems, as society, are related to our infantilism. We are undeveloped as society. Most of the people in the Republic of Moldova do not know their rights and do not know how to defend them, while the bodies that are paid from the state budget to ensure the protection of these rights most often violate them themselves. In fact, the state institutions most often hamper the development of our state,” former deputy minister of foreign affairs Valeriu Ostalep, expert in international relations and security, said in a debate staged by IPN News Agency.
According to the expert, a vicious circle was created: there are particular classes and social sections with differing views. There is a class of bureaucrats – a huge number of public functionaries whose view, perception about the realities in Moldova are different from those of businesspeople, of civil society, of young people who want to leave to build a future elsewhere, for example.
“We lack public debate, public speech. We practically do not have media, not to mention the freedom of the media. Some of the journalists serve political interests for financial reasons. We face a series of problems typical of an undeveloped state. Almost nothing is done to change the situation. We do not have unchallengeable leaders in society – not only opinion leaders, but also persons with authority from the academia or even from the political sector. In our country, it is so: today the politician is a king, tomorrow this is a nobody,” explained Valeriu Ostalep.
He noted these realities are an indicator of the development of the state. The realities in Moldova cannot be compared with the political culture, society and education in Germany. Even the absence of discussions in the public sphere about these problems already shows that this is a problem for Moldova society. The civilization in Germany and the situation in Moldova “are two different planets”.
The expert said the parliamentary alliances in Moldova were ideological screens for criminal groups. He referred to the state capture that involved political leaders who continue to hold high-ranking state posts.
Valeriu Ostalep said Germany has always been more prudent and more attentive in the statements it makes, avoiding political speculations. Germany will calmly become involved in conflicts in Eastern Europe and the current situation in Ukraine could be frozen. Therefore, nothing new can be expected in the developments concerning the Transnistrian region.
The public debate titled “Germany has a new government: Impact on situation in the Eastern Partnership and in Moldova” is the 218th installment of the series “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates”. IPN’s project is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
