After winning comfortably the July 11 snap parliamentary elections, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) will face serious problems related to the governmental team and the administration capacity, but these can be solved, expert Igor Boțan stated in a debate at IPN.
The expert noted that with a comfortable parliamentary majority of 63 seats out of 101 seats, the pro-presidential parity will be able to deliver its electoral promises and to implement its electoral program. It will not be able only to amend the Constitution. However, given the credibility enjoyed by President Maia Sandu, if the Constitution will need to be amended, this could be easily done by referendum. The low turnout at the referendum can be the only impediment in this regard.
Igor Boțan said that with a solid majority, the expectations of the new government will be appropriate. In such conditions, the government will face “big problems” related to the administration capacity as PAS “has educated, but inexperienced people”. But this problem can be solved. Missis President, who is an economist, and PAS realize that there are not many people with capacities among a population with 2 million people. Those who didn’t discredit themselves or those who had to cooperate with the oligarchic regime under particular circumstances can be coopted and engaged in government. The new government has what to learn from some of the policies pursued by the Filip and Chicu Governments, especially the economic ones, while the professionals from the previous governmental teams can be recruited.
Igor Boțan does not agree with the idea of a “general amnesty” that was formulated by another participant in the debate, political analyst Anatol Țăranu – to forget the sins of those from the previous governments and to establish zero tolerance of all the violations from now on. “The crimes should be investigated,” he stated. However, the expert noted that a difference should be made between executors and accomplices of schemes, on the one hand, and the faithful functionaries who worked for state institutions in those times, on the other hand. Maia Sandu was also reproached for holding public posts at the time of Braghiș, Voronin and others, he stated.
According to the standing expert of IPN’s project, PAS should realize that together with the victory in elections, the whole situation in the Republic of Moldova goes 10-11 years back, when the platform Rethink Moldova that envisioned a “success story” was launched in Brussels, but was later compromised by the oligarchic regime. “That idea was based on three major pillars that should be now adopted by PAS,” he said, noting that these objectives can be achieved. These are: resources for improving infrastructures, the independence of the judiciary and a favorable business climate.
“The judges and prosecutors felt that the power changed: the political will is different. If this will is manifested competently and credibility in this government is maintained, things will start to change very swiftly,” said the expert.
The public debate “Snap elections 2021: What happened, what can happen at internal level?” is the 197th installment of the project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is implemented by IPN with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
