Nicolae Timofti marks one year of tenure as head of state

Nicolae Timofti was elected President of Moldova one year ago. Political analyst Viorel Cibotaru has told Info-Prim Neo that the head of state continues to be praised by some and criticized by the largest faction in Parliament, of the Communist Party. He considers that Nicolae Timofti must overcome the situation when his election as head of state is challenged by the end of the current legislature’s mandate. “The expectations that the election of the President will stabilize the internal situation and the political processes were met. The election of Nicolae Timofti as head of state and the work he did during a year stabilized the activity of this institution after a tense period when the post of President was held on an interim basis,” said Viorel Cibotaru. According to hum, by his work, the head of state managed to increase the credibility of the Residential Office and the Republic of Moldova before the European partners. “However, he didn’t succeed in asserting himself in the Eastern area, including Russia and the CIS member states. This is probably due to his modesty and fear to show Moldova’s character in front of such a powerful partner as Russia,” stated the analyst. Viorel Cibotaru said that the personal qualities of the head of state are positive and are useful in such crisis situations as the one that appeared after the agreement to form the ruling alliance was denounced by one component. Until now, the head of state behaved perfectly from protocol viewpoint. Nicolae Timofti is now an important liaison and a lifebuoy that can help break any political stalemate. The analyst believes that the personal influence of Nicolae Timofti is limited by certain circumstances, but the head of state has institutional influence too. He said that he didn’t hear reproaches on the part of the leaders of the ruling alliance, only threats made by the Liberal Party head Mihai Ghimpu. The Liberal leader said that they will vote for the dismissal of the head of state if he insists on the candidacy of the Liberal-Democrat Vlad Filat for premiership. “But such threats characterize Ghimpu, not Timofti. From protocol perspective, the head of state exerts his influence. He does not have a dominant, but rather positive influence,” said Viorel Cibotaru. Nicolae Timofti was elected head of state on March 16, 2012 by the votes of 62 MPs - 58 lawmakers of the ruling alliance, unaffiliated MP Mihai Godea and three Socialist MPs. The Communists challenged the election of the head of state, saying it was unconstitutional. Every time they say that March 16 was a black day for Moldova as the Constitution was seriously violated on that day.