Tarlev Cabinet’s resignation – a chance to reshuffle the executive, one year before elections: Chisinau experts

The resignation of the Tarlev Gabinet is a chance for the ruling party to re-shuffle the executive branch less than a year before the elections and to bring in a little vigor by appointing younger and uncompromised ministers, says analysts from Chisinau. Asked by Info-Prim Neo, the political analyst Igor Munteanu says the Tarlev Cabinet has been repeatedly described as a weak, unpopular and not carrying out its basic tasks – it does not promote the reforms expected by the political and economic agenda of the relationships Moldova has with the EU. Many anticipated this Cabinet was to fall. The fact that it resigns only now shows that President Voronin expected to exhaust the sixth congress of the Communists Party (PCRM,) because he did not want to stir unease and instability before this event, Igor Munteanu opines. According to the analyst, now the head of the state shall weight his personal interests and they are, first, linked to winning the 2009 elections. The way in which the 2007 elections were organized was an exam failed by the Tarlev Government, because it could not mobilize itself enough to insure the PCRM’s victory locally. Now someone has to pay for this, but also for the fact that the monitoring reports on implementing the Moldova – UE Action Plan are rather bad, says Igor Munteanu. The expert considers the appraisals the President addressed to the Tarlev Government, including decorating the premier with the Order of the Republic, are but token gestures, hiding the dissatisfaction with not honoring the basic attributions of a Government: stubbornly promoting the reforms. Igor Munteanu believes the new Cabinet can encompass more docile people, and, possibly Transnistrian top-notch, who should forward the process of regulating the conflict. Vasile Tarlev has asked the President of the country to accept his resignation on Wednesday, March 19. The Prime-Minister in office has explained his gesture through the will to offer the opportunity of reaching new goals required by new times to new people. President Vladimir Voronin has confirmed the Government has managed to cope with the requirements demanded by the time. The President has appreciated Vasile Tarlev’s resignation as a proof the latter one has realized the need for a change. It’s a new procedure in Moldova after independence when a prime-minister announces his resignation. Under the Moldovan Constitution, in case of dismissing the Prime-Minister, the whole government steps down.