[ - What did Moldova achieve during 17 years of Independence?] - The assertion and development of statehood is a complicated and long process. Some countries cover this distance quicker, while others slower. The reasons are different. During 17 years of independence, Moldova managed to set up and develop democratic state institutions, to carry out the necessary reforms and to establish relations typical of a sovereign state. I think that nobody now questions the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova, though Moldova’s statehood was challenged and attacked at different periods of time. I consider that the major obstacle to asserting and developing Moldova’s statehood is the absence of national consensus, of a vision of the country’s future accepted by the largest part of the people. First of all, it was the political class, the elites of the society that did not succeed in reaching this consensus, though we cannot say that attempts have not been made. The politicians, political parties, different currents from inside and outside have permanently made use of different notions and statements, which could not lead to a stronger statehood. Every new government came with its own vision of the country’s future, which was not always accepted and supported by the majority of the people. Every government tried to prove that what the predecessors did was absolutely wrong and the direction should be changed. Therefore, we haven’t had a clear strategy for developing the country, which would be backed by the largest part of the population by referendum. As a result of these chaotic and unforeseeable developments, the people became disappointed and lost hope. [ - How did you influence the country’s development as Prime Minister and what is the difference between your tenure and the previous and subsequent ones?] - The government that I headed had a number of accomplishments that cannot be questioned – the first economic growth, the liquidation of pension and salary arrears, the raising of pensions and salaries, establishment of normal cooperation relations with the neighbors and foreign partners. We met serious challenges such as the halt in the natural gas supplies and the unfavorable effects of the hoar frost of the winter of 2001. We managed to cope with all these because we tried to lay the basis for a sustainable development, to insure a continuation in the development of the national economy. We developed and strengthened what our predecessors did right and tried to correct the mistakes committed earlier. We must remind that our government worked without having a clear political support, but it was the lack of this support that helped us not to make mistakes as we did not have to permanently take account of all the opinions and visions and agree the decisions with the political forces. The government’s work in that period was appreciated by experts. They say that the government that I led was the most efficient. [ - What would you change if you were again Prime Minister so that the people felt comfortable at home, in an independent Moldova?] - While I had been Prime Minister, the government created about 25,000 workplaces. It is not so much. I realize that we should have paid more attention to the creation of workplaces, to mobilize the resources, to attract more investments in order to prevent the migration of people abroad as this process started then and did not have the current size. The Republic of Moldova must yearly create 100,000-150,000 well-paid workplaces so as to return the citizens to the country, to their families, in 7-8 years. The provision of well-paid jobs for every citizen and of the possibility of making a good living in the homeland must be a top priority for every government. Otherwise, the economic growth and the doubling or trebling of the budget are useless as they cannot restore the people’s trust in the country in which they live and the hope in a better future for them and their children.