Together with the fall of the Plahotniuc regime a year ago, many hoped that the Republic of Moldova will return to a democratic development path in accordance with the norms and principles of a modern European-type democracy. But this didn’t happen. Moreover, the socioeconomic situation has worsened, expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” Ion Tăbârță was quoted by IPN as saying in the talk show “15 Minutes of Economic Realism”.
The expert noted that Moldovan democracy has yet a lot to work to reach a particular development level. Initially, there was a lot of euphoria that didn’t have a real substrate as that geopolitical consensus between the great powers formed the basis of the atypical coalition between the ACUM Bloc and the Party of Socialists.
“At that time, everyone expected that the state institutions will be set free. Moreover, we even had a statement on the freeing of the institutions from captivity. The enthusiasm was too great. The PSRM didn’t want such a scenario. The party had its own political game with geopolitical instructions from Moscow. Shortly after the leaving of Plahotniuc, discussions behind the scenes started between the PSRM and the Democratic Party for removing the Government of Maia Sandu,” stated Ion Tăbârță.
The expert noted that the Government of Maia Sandu had a very good performance and was appreciated by the development partners, even if particular mistakes were made and particular socioeconomic aspects were neglected. “This generated criticism on the part of the PSRM through the launch of the so-called “torpedoes” by Igor Dodon. The executive neglected these aspects and focused on the justice sector reform, while Igor Dodon, together with the PSRM, was interested in taking over power,” noted Ion Tăbârță.
According to him, against such a background, Igor Dodon prepared in secret the replacement of the Government and was waiting for the suitable moment that came immediately after the local elections and the process of appointing the prosecutor general served as a pretext. “Ultimately, Socialist MP Vasile Bolea tore up that coalition agreement and a new Government was named. This was called the personal Government of Igor Dodon, which was headed by his adviser on public finance Ion Chicu, who served as a minister in the Democrats’ Government. Even if it claimed to be a technocratic Cabinet, it focused on the prioritization of actions for increasing the personal rating of Igor Dodon for this autumn’s presidential elections,” explained the expert. He noted the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the limits and populism of this executive and things worsened despite the efforts made to coopt the Democrats into governance.
Ion Tăbârță went on to day that one year after the leaving of Vladimir Plahotniuc and after the fall of the oligarchic government, changes took place, but not according to the expectations of that time. The socioeconomic situation remained precarious. The populism among politicians remained the same. The state institutions cannot be said to have been freed from captivity, but we must admit that particular institutions got rid of the influence of politicians, like the Constitutional Court, which is no longer politically controlled. The most important conclusion is that any regime falls, no matter how painstakingly it was built.
The program is produced by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” in partnership with RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service.
