European Action disappointed by talks with Lib-Dems and Libs on potential political partnership

The European Action Movement (MAE) is disappointed by the results of the negotiations with the Liberal Democratic Party (PLM) and the Liberal Party (PL) on forging a political partnership. At the same time, the MAE said it continued talks with the Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) Party. MAE leader Anatol Petrencu told a news conference at Info-Prim Neo that talks had been held with the Lib-Dem president Vlad Filat on a potential partnership agreement. Acording to Petrencu, MAE and PLD vice presidents, Ion Neagu and Mihai Godea, drafted a text which was supposed to be signed by the presidents of the parties. “Mister Filat, however, cheated us. He put forward other initiatives, addressing the AMN and PL, in the assumption that these are larger parties which will surmount the electoral threshold. That is why our relations with the PLD have somewhat cooled”, stated Anatol Petrencu, complaining that the MAE is undermined and treated like a small party. He mentioned that the MAE still advocates for building an “anticommunist pole” and informed that talks in this direction are being held, in particular, with the AMN leader Serafim Urecheanu. Anatol Petrencu avoided to offer details on the going-ons of these negotiations, citing the previous experience with Vlad Filat, but announced that on August 18 an important political event will take place, with the participation of a number of right-wing parties. Speaking about the negotiations with the Liberals, Petrencu said “it is very difficult to enter into alliance with Mihai Ghimpu” (the leader of the Liberal Party). According to Petrencu, Ghimpu is sure his party will poll the required number of votes to enter the Parliament and therefore he is decided to run unaccompanied. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, Vlad Filat said Anatol Petrencu “hurried to see this negotiation process over, but in fact it hasn't even started”. According to him, the PLD has all along acted in order to see healthy, opposition parties merge, and the MAE seemed to fit into this scenario. “There are continuous dialogs with a number of parties, which are held at different levels, between vice presidents, representatives, and so on. But no finality has been reached yet in any of them. The subject of some kind of agreement was indeed in discussion, but it was supposed to be signed by more parties, not just the PLD and MAE. I really don't know at what stage the talks on this accord ended”, said Filat. He pointed out that the initiative to set up a Council of Dialog and Cooperation included PLD, AMN and PL, parties with real chances to enter the Parliament, to outline some basic principles, which could be later joined by other parties sharing the same values. Filat also added that he doesn't label parties as being big or small, important or unimportant, and that he respects equally all the parties in Moldova. Mihai Ghimpu has told a news conference he proposed Anatol Petrencu to run in the parliamentary elections on lists of the PL, reiterating the determination to run without allies. “Small parties just throw their support behind the Communists when they enter the Parliament”, said Ghimpu. Serafim Urecheanu could not be found to confirm or infirm the existence of talks. AMN vice president Veaceslav Unitla told Info-Prim Neo that he is on vacation, and knows nothing about such negotiations, but remarked that “the AMN is open to negotiations with any political party of democratic orientation for the purpose of overthrowing the Communists from power”. Recent amendments to the electoral legislation disallows parties to form electoral blocs. However, a number of opposition parties have announced their willingness to cooperate in the election campaign.