Centrists say Petru Lucinschi plans backdoor comeback to politics

The former President of Moldova Petru Lucinschi plans a comeback to politics through the backdoor, by using tricks and lies, Mihai Petrache, leader of the Centrist Union (UCM) told a news conference today. He also took the occasion to announce a temporary pullout of the merger with two other social-democratic parties. According to Petrache, the slow-moving negotiations which started after June 7, when three parties - UCM, the Social Democracy Party (PDS) and the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) - announced the intention to merge, have reached a deadlock after the local UCM members told the party leadership about the ‘tricks’ used by the supporters of Dumitru Braghis to undermine UCM’s authority. Mihai Petrache further stated that the former President Petru Lucinschi strives for honorary presidentship of the emergent party. The UCM leader told reporters about the hardships of the merger, in particular about the attempts of the two other leaders, Dumitru Braghis and Eduard Musuc, to institute a 4:4:2 principle for the electoral lists for the 2009 elections, which disadvantages the equality-advocating Centrists. Noting that the goal of the Centrists is the unification of the democratic forces ahead of the parliamentary elections in order to prevent the ‘Communists-capitalists’ from taking power again, Petrache expressed much indignation at the fact that the two other leaders are apparently trying to marginalise UCM in the unified party. Thus, UCM reserves itself the right to abstain from further negotiations, said Petrache, adding that “UCM doesn’t want to take part in such disgusting games”. Attending the conference, UCM vice president Gheorghe Amihalachioae stated that the party is an advocate of the unification of the democratic forces, but will ally itself only with the parties that share the same principles as UCM. On Saturday, November 17, the three merging parties will hold a National Council to discuss the issues raised at today’s news conference.