Parliamentary opposition boycotts prime-minister’s report

Premier Zinaida Greceanai presented the report on implementing the activity Program of the Government “Progress and integration”, on Friday, December 12, in the Parliament. Though present, the opposition deputies refused to participate in debating the report, invoking that it is of a populist nature. Only the PCRM and the PPCD parliamentarians posed questions, Info-Prim Neo reports. In her speech, Zinaida Greceanai referred to achievements as growing the GDP, containing inflation, exceeding the budget plan, raising salaries of budget earners, fighting corruption, efforts in the European integration and reunifying Moldova, etc. The premier referred to the world financial crisis saying that the Moldovan financial system proved to be resistant to its effects. “All efforts of the governmental team were focused on a successful fulfillment of the provisions of Program “Progress and Integration,” because, from the start, we considered this program as our commitment to people,” the premier stated. The opposition MPs showed indignation to the fact that only the premier, not the whole cabinet of ministers, was present at hearings, taking into account that it is a report on the government’s work. Non-affiliated deputy Vlad Filat said that the printed report -- a book of 143 pages in Romanian and other 157 pages in Russian -- was presented to the deputies only in the afternoon of the previous day. The deputies of the Democratic Party (PD) and of the Moldova Noastra Alliance were dissatisfied that they could not assess the government’s work in a Parliament decision. They proposed to draft one, rapidly, but the majority refused to do it. This was one of the reasons why AMN refused to participate in discussions about the report. AMN deputy Leonid Bujor has also invoked the absence of the ministers at the sitting, and that the report, presented by the premier, is a populist one. Non-affiliated deputy Vitalia Pavlicenco, the leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), also described the report as being “populist, false, which has no courage to see what happens in Moldova.” Further, non-affiliated MP Vlad Filat, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, stated that the premier “came to continue the tradition, instituted in Moldova, with a triumphant report” and he announced he would not take part in “this cheap show, which has no result.” ”I feel uncomfortable to pose questions to the prime-minister, because she is a nice lady. I think that she also feels very uncomfortable because she received this instruction from the party to speak only nicely,” leader of the Democratic Party (PD) Dumitru Diacov said. On the other hand, Communist deputy Anatolie Zagarodnii thanked the premier that she came to the parliament and he congratulated her, saying that “she proved professionalism in selecting the team, with which she led Moldova up to now.” Asked by journalists to comment on the opposition deputies’ attitude, Zinaida Greceanai said: “If I were them, I would not do this. I would be more constructive. Why say it is not well? I presented the things which really happened. The government also mentioned the problems it faces.” The Zinaida Greceanii government and its program “Progress and integration” were approved by the Parliament on March, 31, 2008.