IPN interview: The election campaign is probably the best and most efficient occasion for testing the contacts of the political class with society. But they can be tested and strengthened if they had been established and maintained, considers the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM) Vlad Filat. According to the politician, for things in the country to go right, permanent contacts and relations with all the social categories and all the country’s people are needed, especially with the young people and the students in particular, who are the condition and driving force of the development of society. Vlad Filat is the interlocutor of Valeriu Vasilica.
---
IPN: Mister Filat, this week you have had a number of meetings, most of which with teams of students from Chisinau. Why now and why with them?
Vlad Filat: It’s normal to have meetings with all the categories of people in this period, but it’s more normal for these contacts to be permanent in character. In general, I think, and my colleagues share this opinion, that the meetings with the people are the best source of inspiration and the most useful form of political activity. I follow this principle not for a year or two, no matter whether we have an election campaign in the country or not. What I said now refers especially to the permanent communication with the young people, including students, because the youth, the young people with good education particularly, are the main condition and the driving force of Moldova’s modernization and Europeanization. Maybe because of this reason I will use here an official, but very true formula: the youth, students and education form part of our key priorities. In this sense, the meetings we have had this week only complemented a larger relevant picture. We wanted to discuss again with the students, the young people the things that were done and what we should yet do together, given the political period we are going through. We had constructive discussions that resulted in particular plans of action and I’m fully satisfied with how things stand in this respect.
IPN: Did your interlocutors appreciate the things that have been done?
Vlad Filat: Yes, maybe with small exceptions. I think the young people are closer to the things done and can assess the evident differences between what was and what is now in their life. At macro-level, if I can say so, I would mention the adoption of the Education Code with all its benefits for students, which will enable to significantly improve the quality of education. I should not mention the struggle we went through to have it adopted and how we had to convince everyone of the necessity of passing it. But in the end almost everyone admitted that it was a right step.
I would also note the visa-free regime with the European Union, which provides concrete benefits to the people of Moldova, especially to young people and students who now enjoy much greater mobility than earlier and this offers new opportunities to them.
In the same connection, I would like to mention such actions as the exclusion of the condition for the young people to have work experience for being able to work in state institutions of the first level, the adoption of the law by which the state institutions are obliged to allot 10% of the workplaces as places for internship, the modification of the admission regulations so that now the students can apply to as many universities as they want, the modification of the regulations concerning scholarships (now, if a student got a budget-funded place, but does not study well, at the end of the academic year the performance of students is reassessed and the budget is distributed among the best), the adoption of the Law on Volunteering so that the volunteer experience is now included in the length of service, etc.
IPN: The young people and students are persuaded faster and easier when it is about real things, but it is usually harder to convince them when it is about plans and promises …
Vlad Filat: All our plans are real and can be easily understood and verified. The accomplishments I mentioned above were just plans at a certain moment and most of these plans can be already ‘touched’. We have a system approach and this applies to everything the PLDM does, not only to particular categories. I want to mention here the PLDM’s Plan 2020, which stipulates the steps that must be taken for Moldova to join the EU in 2020. It is based on four priorities and each of these priorities has direct connection with the young people.
The first priority is a more solid education system. Education is a force that can propel Moldova forward and a more solid education system provides the young people with additional knowledge and skills. As a result, we will have young people who will be more determined to start businesses and to implement innovations and information technologies, benefiting surely from state support as well.
The second priority is to create more jobs and this refers first of all to the young people. A well-paid job is the most efficient weapon against poverty and we consider that each of us has the right to a stable and well-paid job.
Another priority is to ensure a European future. The direct beneficiaries of such an accomplishment will be again the young people. The PLDM thinks that Moldova has its place in the European family, but in this respect we must make effort to ensure more workplaces, higher salaries, more investments, equal rights for all the people and more opportunities for the youth and women.
The fourth priority is to combat corruption as this phenomenon affects directly the whole country, including the young people. The PLDM is for Moldova’s development by strengthening the state institutions and by continuously mobilizing society for fighting corruption and we will make effort for this important objective to be achieved.
IPN: Mister Filat, I understand that the PLDM, as many other parties, counts on the votes of students and young people in general. Is your stake different from those of other parties?
Vlad Filat: For us, the votes of the young people are important, but we never treated them as ordinary voters. We always put emphasis on the young people and a conclusive proof is our list of candidates for the November 30 parliamentary elections. The average age of the PLDM’s candidates is 43. Twenty-eight candidates are younger than 35 and this shows that the promotion of the youth for us is not only a nice statement, but also a commitment supported by deeds.
IPN: Did you now speak about the PLDM’s attractiveness for young people. To what extent are the young people attracted to the PLDM?
Vlad Filat: The PLDM was and remains a party open to the young people and this thing can be easily verified. Today, the Youth Organization of the PLDM has about 14,000 members. It has student clubs in practically all the universities. There is also a club of Liberal-Democratic lyceum students. We also have organizations at college level.
The young people are actively involved in the PLDM’s activities. They are our vanguard and our substitutes tomorrow. That’s why the doors of the PLDM are always open to those who care about the country’s future and want to contribute to building a prosperous Moldova that will be a fully-fledged member of the large European family.
