Victor Stepaniuc, historian, political scientist and former deputy prime minister, said that Moldova's previous experience in terms of a technocratic, minority government is insignificant. The current government is the single true minority government, according to the political scientist, because the previous one had consolidated a majority, which permanently supported all of its initiatives. “We have the characteristics of a government of national reconciliation and rescue. Although the government de jure has only the support of the Socialists, I believe that other political forces will be able to join and support several initiatives". The opinion was expressed at the public debates "Technocratic minority government as a solution: advantages and risks", organized by the IPN Press Agency and Radio Moldova.
According to Victor Stepaniuc, it is unpredictable how parliamentary groups will react to the Chicu government, apart from the PSRM, which could impose conditions. "I believe that certain amendments and bills will be voted by the Democratic Party, maybe even most of them. However, it is very likely that ACUM bloc members will also vote in favor, because they cannot vote against the social initiatives". Additionally, ACUM MPs will not be able not to vote in favor of some bills related to justice reform, because the current governments partially continues the previous government's program.
"The members of this government declare themselves technocrats. They really are not party members, they are presidential advisers. That is, they were presidential advisers, among other things, because they have work experience in central public authority activities", said the political scientist.
According to him, the establishment of the minority government in November happened due to the "Igor Dodon factor" and the "Maia Sandu factor". "The speech that Maia Sandu held on the day when the motion of censure was discussed in Parliament was an inadequate one. Any specialist in political technology would have told the former prime minister that there are three decision options in Parliament: voting on a motion, not voting and the suspension of the motion. However, she decided to leave", said the historian. Victor Stepaniuc said that he holds information that Maia Sandu's decision to depart was taken on the last day and President Igor Dodon was prepared for this: “The Maia Sandu factor, the mistakes and her behavior on November 12 were the last drop. The government fell because she wanted to leave".
The historian considers that a shortcoming of the current government is its dependence on the PDM vote. On the other hand, according to Victor Stepaniuc, the PDM is now a party in transition, while a large number of party members want to "cleanse Plahotniuc's past". "Party leadership still includes people who are guilty of the theft of the billion, of corruption, of anti-democratic behavior and usurpation of state power". The probability that Ion Chicu will serve his term until the end is very high, believes the historian, because the PDM has only to lose from snap parliamentary elections. Moreover, the PSRM would prefer snap parliamentary elections to be held along with presidential ones. Nor does the ACUM bloc have to gain from snap elections", said the political scientist.
Victor Stepaniuc is convinced that the current government will have to cooperate with eastern and western partners, while the relationship with the European Union remains a priority, which was declared by both the prime minister and the president. The political scientist is of the opinion that European financing will continue to be provided, as long as the government is efficient.
The former deputy prime minister does not see any contradictions between the Sandu government program and the current government's program, with the exception that the second program focuses more on the social sector. Victor Stepaniuc said that the fight against oligarchization is in fact a left-wing idea and that the ACUM bloc have imported this message from the center-left, thus compromising, which is very good. "One of the great personalities of Moldova in 2019 is Maia Sandu herself and Andrei Năstase, who sought to reach a compromise. They forgot that they were the representatives of a center-right doctrine and compromised with the socialists. So did Igor Dodon with his party in order to achieve democratization and deoligarhization. What matters now the most is for the Government to be effective and for the population to feel that", said the political scientist.
The "Technocratic minority government as a solution: advantages and risks" debates are the 121st edition of the cycle "Development of political culture in public debates", supported by the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
