Radio România Internațional

Tag: early elections

Who is going to be PM of Moldova?

Maia Sandu’s victory in last years presidential election reopened the European path for the small ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population, neighboring Romania. And the first gestures and actions of the new leader in Chisinau, including the reception of the Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, have confirmed her intention to re-establish ties with Bucharest and Brussels, which were practically suspended during the previous socialist government. However, the enthusiasm caused by her election subsided in the face of analyzes that showed that, in the context of a hostile parliament and limited constitutional powers, Maia Sandu will find it difficult, if not impossible, to succeed in her reforming approach. The solution would be early elections, followed by the installation of a Government that should be her partner. For now, this scenario seems quite unlikely.

On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court of Moldova declared unconstitutional the decree by which Maia Sandu once again appointed Natalia Gavriliţă to form a new Government. The court also called on parliamentary groups and the presidency to have new consultations for the appointment of a prime minister, especially since the head of state did not nominate a candidate backed by a parliamentary majority. Maia Sandu had announced on February 11, after consultations with parliamentary groups, that she had once again proposed Natalia Gavriliţă, already rejected, once, as the candidate for the position of prime minister, practically forcing the possibility of holding early elections.

Following the Courts ruling, Maia Sandu compared the current situation in the Republic of Moldova with that at the end of 2015, when the former Democratic leader Vlad Plahotniuc created a parliamentary majority close to him and the President Nicolae Timofti was forced to nominate a candidate from that majority to the position of Prime Minister. Maia Sandu continues to plead for early parliamentary elections and asked the deputies, “who are not caught in the mafia network”, to go that way. President Maia Sandu believes that there is no majority in the current Parliament to support the fight against corruption and has expressed skepticism over the MPs’ intention to get the country out of the crisis. “Their so-called majority has nothing to do with saving the country. The country must be saved from thieves ” said the Moldovan President.

From the opposite side, the Socialists leader, the former President Igor Dodon, accused Sandu of having seriously violated the Constitution and called on her to immediately issue the decree appointing a legal candidate the prime minister position, recalling that the majority formed around the Socialists did have a proposal for prime minister. Otherwise, the Socialists threaten with protests.

According to a recent opinion poll in Chisinau, 42% of the respondents believe that, in the current political situation, the main priority was the formation of a new government and 39% are in favor of early elections. (tr. L. Simion)

24 February 2021
End of the line for early elections

Romania’s Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled by majority vote to invalidate the Government’s emergency decree on modifying the legislation for holding early legislative elections. The Court pointed out that the emergency decree eliminating a restrictive provision, thus allowing people to cast their votes in any polling station irrespective of the constituency they belong to, with the aim of eluding the very principle under which constituencies were created, goes against the Constitution.

At the same time the Court ruled that the provisions in the Government’s decree regulating the possibility of holding legislative and local elections simultaneously in 2020 violate citizens’ right to vote, subjecting them to a tedious and complicated voting procedure that would eventually restrain their freedom to express their political will and hence the efficiency of their right to vote. The dispositions are also in breach of people’s right to re-election, as they prevent someone from running for positions in the local administration (mayor, city councilor, county councilor) or in Parliament (deputy or senator).

Moreover, the Court also took under advisement the fact that the bill modifying the organization of legislative elections was passed less than a year before the elections were due. Court judges say the Government failed to observe the obligation to refrain from modifying election legislation, as per the recommendations of the Constitutional Court and the Code of good practices in electoral matters released by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission).

The Court notes that the Government’s bill infringes on citizens’ election rights, as well as on Parliament’s constitutional remit. The Court’s ruling basically rules out the possibility of holding early elections. Over the three decades that have passed since 1989, Romania has never had snap elections. Under the Constitution, procedures to trigger the elections require the consensus of the majority of political parties. As a result, legislative elections will be held in autumn as scheduled, during which time the Liberals will have to face a hostile Social-Democratic majority. (translated by V. Palcu)

13 March 2020
Hearing of the second Orban Cabinet ministers

The Liberal government, dismissed on February 5, returns to Romania’s Parliament with the same PM designate, Ludovic Orban, the leader of the National Liberal Party, with the same membership which was validated 3 months ago, and with a slightly adjusted governing program but with a totally different purpose, that of not being voted. It might seem unnatural but this is the only way to go to early elections, which are wanted by the parliamentary minority made up of the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union party as well as by the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, a partner of the Liberals.

Labeled almost unanimously as rigid, the Romanian Constitution seems to have been drafted with the very purpose of providing debatable solutions to crisis situations, such as the current one. Thus, according to the Constitution, rejecting two consecutive proposals for government, in an interval of two months, before Parliament being dissolved by the president, is a prerequisite for calling early elections.

The idea of early elections became a reality after the first Orban government was sanctioned for having assumed responsibility for a draft law on the election of mayors in two rounds of voting. Ever since it took office, the first cabinet led by Ludovic Orban has been faced with a big problem: the lack of a majority in Parliament that could promote its bills. This is why the first Orban government resorted, on several occasions, to the procedure of assuming responsibility for certain bills, including for the draft budget law.

Considered main favorites in the voter surveys, after the victories scored in 2019 in the EP and presidential elections, the Liberals see the early elections as their chance to build a solid majority in Parliament and thus overcome the big obstacle in their way. The proposed ministers of the second Orban cabinet will be heard in Parliament in the first 3 days of this week, with the vote on the government membership and the governing program being scheduled for Monday, February 24. The PM designate Ludovic Orban however suspects the Social Democrats of having tried to put off the hearing process and the investiture vote.

Early elections might take place, according to PM Orban, between 15 and 30 June, in the same period with the local elections. The interim Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu has recently said that the Social Democratic MPs will not vote for the second Orban cabinet. The Social Democrats’ discourse has changed of late. They now claim that they are ready for any scenario, including early elections. The party still feels the shock of last year’s defeats, but it has braced up after blocking the modification of the election law.

A countrywide leader in terms of the number of mayors, the Social Democratic Party is the first party to be favored by the election of mayors in one single round, and they count on the involvement of their own mayors, with a lot of influence at local level, who will be thus stimulated and will improve the score in the legislative elections, if they are held in the same period with the local elections. (translation by L. Simion)

17 February 2020
February 11, 2020 UPDATE

EARLY ELECTIONS – The investiture vote for the new Cabinet will be held in Parliament on February 24. Ministers will appear before the specialist committees starting next week. Prime Minister designate Ludovic Orban said he wants to trigger early elections, by enabling citizens to elect a new Parliament, which should be fairer, more honest and more representative. Ludovic Orban is holding talks with parliamentary party officials, in an attempt to garner support for the organization of early elections. Snap elections may only be called if 2 Cabinet nominations are rejected by Parliament within 2 months. Orban, whose Liberal Cabinet was recently dismissed under a no-confidence motion, Monday sent to Parliament a list of ministers, with no changes whatsoever from the previous team, and a slightly updated government programme. The main party in Parliament, the Social Democrats, announced they will not take part in the talks with the Liberals. The Social Democratic Party filed a challenge with the Constitutional Court, arguing that the President designating a prime minister who has already been dismissed comes against the will of Parliament. The idea of early elections is mainly supported by the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union. Regular general elections are scheduled for this autumn.

JUDICIARY – The incumbent Justice Minister Cătălin Predoiu on Tuesday presented European Commission experts with a bill on dismantling the special division investigating magistrate offences as well as the progress of debates on this topic. In its latest Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report the Commission criticized the establishment and the activity of this division, which it said was an instrument of political pressure. The latest report under the Mechanism was released in October 2019, and suggested the extension of verification on the Romanian judiciary, on grounds that in 2019 Romania backslid in terms of the fight against corruption and the independence of the justice system. A team of European Commission experts met in Bucharest with members of Parliament’s judicial committees. According to the chairman of the judicial committee in the Chamber of Deputies, talks focused on identifying the best solutions regarding the criminal and criminal procedure codes and appointing chief prosecutors.

INFLATION – The central bank has lowered Romania’s 2020 inflation forecast from 3.1% to 3%, Governor Mugur Isărescu announced on Tuesday. For next year the National Bank expects a 3.2% inflation rate. A number of elements have been taken into account, which might lead to a decrease of the inflation rate from the forecast value. These elements include developments in the Eurozone economy, including geopolitical tensions and weaknesses in emerging markets, a possible escalation of trade conflicts, the completion of Brexit, as well as the accommodating monetary policies of the European Central Bank and the Fed. On the other hand, liberalization of the electricity and natural gas markets may push inflation higher than expected, as do the problems in the labor market, such as the shortage of labor and the mismatch between demand and supply in this respect.

COVID-19 – China announced that the novel coronavirus has already killed more than 1,000 people, and the number of cases exceeds 42,000. In the last 24 hours alone, over 100 deaths have been reported, which is the largest number of victims in just one day since the epidemic broke out. Most deaths were reported in the Hubei province. A team of physicians with the World Health Organization has arrived in China to help in the research. Meanwhile, the WHO organizes a 2-day meeting in Geneva, with renowned physicians, public healthcare experts and scientists, in an attempt to encourage a better response of the international community to the new coronavirus outbreak. On opening the meeting, the WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the coronavirus epidemic was a major threat, and called on scientists to work together to develop vaccines or medication to fight the virus. The official code name for the virus is Covid-19. In Romania, several people, including Chinese nationals, are under house monitoring, and the authorities continue to take measures to prepare for possible infection cases. A special unit was set up in Bucharest for the Romanians who return from China and have to be quarantined for 14 days.

TENNIS – Romania’s Fed Cup team will take on Italy in a playoff match that will decide which team remains in the World Group, according to Tuesday’s draw held in London. The match will be played in Romania over April 17-18. Romania last weekend lost 3-2 to Russia at home, counting towards the final tournament. Simona Halep, world no. 2, did not represent Romania. Italy currently leads 2-1 in matches against Romania.

(translated by V. Palcu)

11 February 2020
January 11, 2020 UPDATE

EARLY ELECTIONS – Prime Minister and leader of
the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, announced following Friday’s talks
with President Klaus Iohannis that they reached an agreement to kick off
procedures to organize early elections. The Prime Minister said a special task
force will be set up to negotiate with parties to rally their support. Ludovic
Orban said the Social-Democratic Party, which holds a fragile majority in
Parliament, is hindering the legislative process, the only solution being the
organization of early elections at a date close to the local elections slated
for May. In another development, the Social-Democrats said they might call for
a no-confidence vote against the Government, saying the idea of early elections
would plunge Romania into a superficial political crisis. In turn, the Save
Romania Union-PLUS Alliance believes early elections might represent the best
solution at present.

IRAN-US
CRISIS – Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski and his French counterpart,
Emmanuel macron, on Saturday agreed that French specialists should help decode
the black boxes recovered from the Ukrainian Airlines passenger jet shot down
on Wednesday, near Teheran, which killed all the 176 people onboard. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
misidentified the plane as a cruise missile, taking it down with a short-range
ballistic missile. According to the Fars agency, the Supreme Leade, Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, was informed that the tragedy was the result of a human error,
and the leader wanted the truth to be made public. Iranian President Hasan Rouhani expressed his
deep regret over the incident which he labeled a great tragedy and an
unforgivable error. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski said the culprits
must be held accountable as compensation to the victims’ families. In turn,
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for justice to be served to the
victims’ families. We recall a Ukrainian airliner crashed on Wednesday shortly
after taking off from Teheran airport, hours after Iran launched a missile
attack on two US military bases in Iraq. The plane was bound for Canada via
Kiev, with most of the passengers on the manifest due to disembark in the
Ukrainian capital city.

RATING – Fitch Ratings has confirmed the ratings for long-term loans in
local and hard currency at BBB minus, with a stable outlook. The short-term
prospect was set at F3. The financial rating agency believes Bucharest has
stable income sources, while its growth prospects are in line with Romania’s
GDP growth. Bucharest is also the capital and the biggest city in Romania,
being home to 2.1 million inhabitants with living conditions above the national
average. Over 11% of Romania’s population lives in Bucharest, the city’s GDP
contribution exceeding 20%. The unemployment rate was 1.4% at the end of 2018,
and the city boasts numerous job opportunities.
The city’s population is growing, while the GDP per capita is four times
the national average, Fitch also writes.

ROMAN-CATHOLIC CHURCH – As of Saturday Aurel Perca
(aged 68) has become the new Roman-Catholic Archbishop of Bucharest. To mark
this event a solemn mass was officiated at the St. Joseph Roman-Catholic
cathedral in the capital city, attended by thousands of faithful and over 200
priests, two cardinals, 24 Catholic bishops, civil and political authorities,
representatives of the diplomatic corps and knights of the Sovereign Military
Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. Aurel
Perca was appointed Archbishop of Bucharest by Pope Francis after Ioan Robu
turned 75, the canonical age of retirement under the laws of the Catholic
Church. Previously Perca served as auxiliary bishop of Iasi. He was ordained in
1979 and named bishop in 1999. Ioan Robu will become an emeritus metropolitan
archbishop.

OMAN – Romania’s President Klaus
Iohannis on Saturday conveyed his condolences for the death of Oman’s Sultan,
Qaboos bin Said al-Said. Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Qaboos’s cousin, was sworn
in on Saturday as the new sovereign leader of Oman, the Government in Muscat
has announced. Oman’s Royal Family decided to open the letter where Qaboos
designated his successor. The Constitution of Oman stipulates that the Royal
Family can appoint a successor of its own within three days of the throne
falling vacant. Sultan Qaboos of Oman passed away on Friday, aged 79, after
nearly half a century of rule. Supported by Western powers, Qaboos ascended to
the throne in 1970, at the end of a bloodless coup, assisted by Great Britain.
The new Sultan, Haitahm bin Tariq, aged 65, a sports enthusiast, served as
deputy secretary of state in the Foreign Ministry before becoming Minister of
Heritage and Culture in the mid-90s. In the 1980s Haitham bin Tariq became the
first president of Oman’s Football Federation.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona
Halep will play Germany’s Angelique Kerber in a demonstrative doubles match
featuring other special guests on Sunday in Adelaide, organizers of the WTA
tournament say. The match will be part of the event called The Adelaide
International Rally for Resilience, meant to raise funds to support the
victims of the wildfires in Australia. 27 people were killed in the raging
bushfires and 63,000 square kilometers burned to the ground. World no. 3,
Simona Halep is seeded 2nd in the Adelaide tournament, also
featuring the WTA leader Ashleigh Barty, Czech player Petra Kvitova (WTA no.
7), Belinda Bencic of Switzerland (WTA no. 8) and Kiki Bertens of the
Netherlands (9 WTA). Halep is now training with her coach, Darren Cahill in
Adelaide.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

11 January 2020
January 11, 2020

EARLY ELECTIONS – Prime Minister and leader of
the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, announced following Friday’s talks
with President Klaus Iohannis that they reached an agreement to kick off
procedures to organize early elections. The Prime Minister said a special task
force will be set up to negotiate with parties to rally their support. Ludovic
Orban said the Social-Democratic Party, which holds a fragile majority in
Parliament, is hindering the legislative process, the only solution being the
organization of early elections at a date close to the local elections slated
for May. In another development, the Social-Democrats said they might call for
a no-confidence vote against the Government, saying the idea of early elections
would plunge Romania into a superficial political crisis. In turn, the Save
Romania Union-PLUS Alliance believes early elections might represent the best
solution at present.

CRASH -
On Saturday Iran admitted it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian Airlines
passenger jet. Due to a human error, the army launched missiles against the
aircraft. Iranian President Hasan Rouhani expressed his deep regret over the
incident which he labeled a great tragedy and an unforgivable error. Ukrainian
President Volodimir Zelenski said the culprits must be held accountable as
compensation to the victims’ families. In turn, Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau called for justice to be served to the victims’ families. We recall a
Ukrainian airliner crashed on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Teheran
airport, hours after Iran launched a missile attack on two US military bases in
Iraq. The plane was bound for Canada via Kiev, with most of the passengers on
the manifest due to disembark in the Ukrainian capital city. All the 176 people
onboard were killed. Initially the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization said the
plane was old and had undergone its last technical inspection on Monday,
reporting technical problems shortly after takeoff.

ROMAN-CATHOLIC CHURCH – As of Saturday Aurel Perca
(aged 68) has become the new Roman-Catholic Archbishop of Bucharest. To mark
this event a solemn mass was officiated at the St. Joseph Roman-Catholic
cathedral in the capital city, attended by thousands of faithful and over 200
priests, two cardinals, 24 Catholic bishops, civil and political authorities,
representatives of the diplomatic corps and knights of the Sovereign Military
Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. Aurel
Perca was appointed Archbishop of Bucharest by Pope Francis after Ioan Robu
turned 75, the canonical age of retirement under the laws of the Catholic
Church. Previously Perca served as auxiliary bishop of Iasi. He was ordained in
1979 and named bishop in 1999. Ioan Robu will become an emeritus metropolitan
archbishop.

OMAN – Romania’s President Klaus
Iohannis on Saturday conveyed his condolences for the death of Oman’s Sultan,
Qaboos bin Said al-Said. Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Qaboos’s cousin, was sworn
in on Saturday as the new sovereign leader of Oman, the Government in Muscat
has announced. Oman’s Royal Family decided to open the letter where Qaboos
designated his successor. The Constitution of Oman stipulates that the Royal
Family can appoint a successor of its own within three days of the throne
falling vacant. Sultan Qaboos of Oman passed away on Friday, aged 79, after
nearly half a century of rule. Supported by Western powers, Qaboos ascended to
the throne in 1970, at the end of a bloodless coup, assisted by Great Britain.
The new Sultan, Haitahm bin Tariq, aged 65, a sports enthusiast, served as
deputy secretary of state in the Foreign Ministry before becoming Minister of
Heritage and Culture in the mid-90s. In the 1980s Haitham bin Tariq became the
first president of Oman’s Football Federation.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona
Halep will play Germany’s Angelique Kerber in a demonstrative doubles match
featuring other special guests on Sunday in Adelaide, organizers of the WTA
tournament say. The match will be part of the event called The Adelaide
International Rally for Resilience, meant to raise funds to support the
victims of the wildfires in Australia. 27 people were killed in the raging
bushfires and 63,000 square kilometers burned to the ground. World no. 3,
Simona Halep is seeded 2nd in the Adelaide tournament, also
featuring the WTA leader Ashleigh Barty, Czech player Petra Kvitova (WTA no.
7), Belinda Bencic of Switzerland (WTA no. 8) and Kiki Bertens of the
Netherlands (9 WTA). Halep is now training with her coach, Darren Cahill in
Adelaide.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

11 January 2020
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats parts with the government coalition

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats ALDE on Monday announced its parting with the governing coalition and going in opposition, and expressed its readiness to vote for a possible censure motion against the cabinet headed by the Social Democratic leader Viorica Dancila. The break up of the coalition occurred after the Social Democratic Party’s (PSD) refusal to accept ALDE’s requests related to a government restructuring and the improvement of the governing program, ALDE leader Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu explained. He added that ALDE could no longer endorse faulty budgets or measures such as those provided in the famous emergency decree that overtaxed banks, energy and telecommunications companies. Why did the coalition break up now?

Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu explains: “We have tried for a long time to endorse this government because we have considered that we need political stability and I don’t usually have opposing viewpoints inside the government. That is why I think it is fair to part in a civilized manner today, and we wish the PSD and the PM to carry on their mission easily.”

After almost 3 years of collaboration with the PSD, ALDE changes partners and is now counting on an alliance with the PRO Romania party, set up by the former Social Democratic PM and leader Victor Ponta. The PSD has now been left alone in the government, and it is determined to carry on with its governing program.

The announcement was made by the party leader and PM Viorica Dăncilă: “My colleagues say we have to continue to govern, we have a responsibility towards those who gave us their vote in 2016, we have the responsibility to implement the governing program, a responsibility that we have assumed together with ALDE, but now we, the Social Democratic Party, have to carry on alone.”

The opposition has so far failed in its repeated attempts to topple the government through a censure motion. ALDE’s leaving the coalition changes the power balance and the leader of the opposition National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban says he supports the idea of a censure motion if the PSD does not give up governing, in spite of losing the majority. He explained that Parliament’s rejecting a restructured cabinet meant the dismissal of the government.

A censure emotion might be supported by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania whose votes would be decisive in a possible parliamentary face-off between the PSD and the opposition. However, the Union does not agree with early elections, which, they claim, are illegal less than 6 months ahead of the presidential election due in November. The leaders of the alliance made up of the Save Romania Union and PLUS parties, Dan Barna and Dacian Cioloş, favor the idea of early elections, as they claim a simple change of government is not enough. The next legislative elections are due in one year’s time. (translation by L. Simion)

27 August 2019
May 23, 2018 UPDATE

Country report — The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced it took note of the country- specific recommendations published by the European Commission as part of the European Semester 2018 spring package. The Romanian officials says they will coordinate the drafting of the national stand on this issue, in order to ensure an active participation in the decision-making process that will materialize in the adoption of the recommendations by the Council of the European Union. The Foreign Ministry officials also say that the Country Report for 2018 includes Romania among the member states without macroeconomic imbalances. In the country-specific recommendations 2018 report the EU officials pointed to the fact that the recent reduction of contributions to Pension Pillar 2 diminished, on short term, fiscal concerns, but the move could have negative consequences for the development of the capital markets. Contributions to the Pension Pillar 2 were reduced from 5.1% to 3.75% from gross salaries starting in 2018, although, under the law, the contribution quota to Pillar 2 should have grown gradually to 6% of the gross salary- EU experts have said.

Brussels — Romania complies, at present, with one of the 4 economic criteria necessary for the adoption of the single currency, namely the criterion related to public finances- shows the 2018 convergence report published Wednesday by the European Commission. However Bucharest fails to meet the criteria related to price stability, the currency exchange rate and the long-term interest rates and the Romanian legislation is not entirely compatible with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In March, the Romanian Government decided to set up a national commission for the substantiation of the national plan for the adoption of the Euro, which, according to experts, might occur in 2022 at the earliest.

New York — The chief prosecutor of the Romanian National Anti-Corruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi on Wednesday stated in a speech delivered at the UN headquarters in New York that Romania’s biggest challenge was to maintain the independence of judges and prosecutors. Chief prosecutor Kovesi said that there were repeated attempts at changing the anti-corruption legislation aimed at limiting the legislative instruments used by the anti-corruption prosecutors and at decriminalizing certain crimes of corruption. The debate attended by Laura Codruta Kovesi in New York marks the anniversary of 15 years since the adoption of the UN Convention against Corruption.

Chisinau — The Central Electoral Committee in the Republic of Moldova announced on Wednesday that the 2nd round of the early elections for the new mayor of Chisinau would take place on June 3. After Sunday’s first round, still running in the race for mayor are Socialist Ion Ceban, close to the pro-Russian president Igor Dodon, who received 41% of the votes and the candidate of the Platform Dignity and Truth, a former pro-European civic activist, Andrei Năstase, with 32% of the votes. According to Radio Romania’s correspondents to Chisinau, 5 out of the 9 candidates eliminated in the first round expressed their support for Năstase, to prevent hostile forces opposed to Moldova’s European accession to come to power.

EU — The EU’s popularity is growing, shows a survey made public one year ahead of the elections scheduled for May 23- 26, 2019, the first elections after Brexit. 67% of the interviewees said that their country benefited from the status of EU member, the percentage growing constantly as of October 2016 when the community bloc was faced with the migration crisis and lost people’s trust after the Brexit vote. The survey was ordered by the European Parliament and was conducted in April on a number of 27,601 people from all the 28 EU members. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)

23 May 2018
Romania, in search of a new Prime Minister

The left-of-center Cabinet led by Sorin Grindeanu was sacked by the very ruling coalition that had nominated it. The reason? Inefficiency and unacceptable delays in implementing the governing platform. On Monday, the Social-Democrats will be the first to be consulted by the countrys president, Klaus Iohannis, with a view to forming a new Cabinet. Next in line are the Liberals, the number one party in the center-right opposition, followed by Save Romania Union, the Peoples Movement Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.

So this weekend parties will surely be making up strategies for Mondays talks with the president. Meanwhile Klaus Iohannis said the future Prime Minister has to be a man of integrity, without a criminal record, one who is capable of leading a Government and who is backed by a Parliament majority.

One thing is clear for now: Liviu Dragnea is very unlikely to make Prime Minister this time again. Dragnea received a suspended prison sentence for attempting to defraud the 2012 referendum to impeach the then president Traian Basescu, which makes it impossible for him to be appointed Prime Minister. The future Cabinet leader must be an honest and trustworthy person, a man of vision, and the Social-Democrats already have four options on the table that fit these criteria, Liviu Dragnea said. The Social-Democrats and the their ruling partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, have allegedly decided on the structure of the new Cabinet. This is mainly because the Social-Democrats are not expecting any surprise from president Iohannis. Here is what the Social-Democrat vice-president Doina Pana told Radio Romania.

“We have a governing agreement with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and a parliamentary agreement with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, which is still in place. Of course well have to decide who exactly well be nominating for the position of Prime Minister, and Im confident our choice will be greenlit by the president, as his main message so far was a call for stability. Then the Prime Minister will make up his own Cabinet.

The National Liberal Party argues that early elections is the best solution out of this crisis. Here is Liberal leader Ludovic Orban.

“We will not engage in any negotiation whatsoever with the Social-Democrats with a view to forming the new Government. We will vote against any Government structure proposed by the Social-Democratic Party. The Liberal Party is ready at any time to take over the ruling power, but we will do this the right way and on our own terms, which right now means holding early elections.

A time-consuming and highly challenging option in procedural terms, early elections was brought to the table as a way out of the political deadlock after the opposition claimed the Social-Democrats and their partners needed the votes of the parliamentary group of national minorities in order to oust their own cabinet. The Save Romania Union in turn refuses to collaborate with the Social-Democratic Party, although it might consider being part of a ruling coalition made up of the other parties. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians has not adopted any official standpoint in the matter of the new Government, expressing however hope that the present crisis would soon be over and the new Cabinet would be a political one. (Translated by V. Palcu)

23 June 2017
The president of the Republic of Moldova at the end of his term in office

A jurist by training, a judge during the Soviet regime and president of the Supreme Council of Magistracy after the Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence from Russia in 1991, 67-year old Nicolae Timofti was sworn in as president on March 23rd 2012. Pundits say that the record of his presidency is rather a mixed one. They argue that given the domestic and international circumstances, the president abided by his mandate and prerogatives and avoided causing political crises, managing to foster Chisinaus interests abroad.

The avowed pro-Western governments that ruled the republic during Timoftis term in office advocated the countrys European integration and succeeded in having the association and free trade agreements concluded with Brussels in 2014. However, the essential European reforms stagnated and the administration has been weakened by corruption. One billion dollars, tantamount to 15% of the countrys GDP, mysteriously disappeared from the countrys banking system, the scandal undermining government coalition parties, triggering the large-scale protests of civil society and fuelling voting intentions in favour of the pro-Russian parties. Elected by MPs, Timofti was a compromise solution and his power constantly depended on the parties political games as political analyst Iulian Chifu, an expert in the ex-Soviet area and former presidential advisor in Bucharest believes.

“From my point of view, he was a centrist president, a president who abided by his mandate and had an important role in deciding on the structure of the last Government, at a time when the country was on the verge of early elections, which might have sparked off instability in the Republic of Moldova. So, he assumed a direct role. I also believe that his position as president was underused by the political parties.

Political analyst in Chisinau, Anatol Taranu, highlights Timoftis foreign policy projects, particularly in defending the Republic of Moldovas interests in relationship with Russia and his excellent ties with his counterparts from neighbouring Romania, Traian Basescu and Klaus Iohannis. Anatol Taranu:

“Timofti did not hesitate to defend the Republic of Moldova and did not refrain from doing that in front of president Putin. Moreover, through the foreign policy measures, president Timofti permanently underscored the Republic of Moldovas commitment to the European values as well as to Romanian values.

Under the Moldovan Constitution, Timofti will continue to exert his prerogatives until the future president is sworn in. According to Parliaments decision, validated by the Constitutional Court, the new president will be elected by the citizens of the Republic of Moldova through direct vote and the ballot is going to be held this year.

22 March 2016
The political crisis in the neighboring Republic of Moldova deepens

The latest Prime Minister Designate, Ion Paduraru, decided to withdraw only a day after his designation by President Nicolae Timofti. Paduraru explained his gesture by saying he was
not endorsed by a Parliament majority, which is interested in imposing another
candidate.

Following the election of November 30, 2014, nothing has
functioned properly in the Republic of Moldova. Although the self-proclaimed
pro-Western parties – the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic and the
Liberal Parties – won the election forcing the pro-Russian Socialists and Communists into opposition, the winners have found themselves unable to
handle their own success. They have lately failed to nominate a Prime Minister
and, consequently, the political crisis in the country continues.

Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, has described the situation in the
Republic of Moldova as very complicated, adding that he trusts the Moldovan
politicians. I count on the maturity of the political class in Chisinau to
find the best way for settling the crisis, for instating a strong government
and for maintaining the country’s European progress, the head of the Romanian
state has said. Iohannis has stood for a rapid and good solution to the political
crisis in the Republic of Moldova.

In turn, the Senate’s Foreign Policy Chair, Petru Filip, says
Romania has no right to abandon either the Republic of Moldova, presently in a difficult situation, or its foreign policy’s strategic interest of endorsing the
pro-European progress of the neighboring state. The Romanian official went on
to say that, of late, Romania seems to have throttled down on its pro-Moldova
policy.

In his opinion, the support Romania can offer to the Republic of
Moldova has to comprise both the governmental and presidential dimensions, as
well as the Romanian political parties’ capability to assess the
situation, keeping in mind the interest of boosting the Republic of Moldova’s
pro-European progress. Unless Chisinau gets a new government endorsed until January 29, the president has to dissolve Parliament and stage snap elections.

The most interested in this worst-case scenario are the pro-Russia Socialists, who are presently leading in opinion polls. The former Prime
Minister Iurie Leanca’s European People’s Party has also decided to join the
opposition and pleaded for snap election, a situation all pro-Western political
pundits believe should be avoided. According to some MPs, suspending President Nicolae
Timofti could be another solution, an alternative that has been considered
by Moldovan MPs these days.

15 January 2016
The Republic of Moldova in a Political Deadlock

Moldovan police have announced theyve discovered a paramilitary group that was planning attacks on state institutions and insurrectional scenarios similar to those in neighboring Ukraine. Searches and arrests have been conducted in the north of the republic, but also in the capital Chisinau. The head of the criminal group and its members, some of them born in the pro-Russian eastern part of Ukraine, are people with a criminal record. It could be a scenario masterminded by the Russian Federation, aimed at destabilizing the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovan political analyst Oazu Nantoi has said. Violent incidents would be additional arguments for the pro-Moscow opposition, which keeps announcing the failure of the current governing formula and calls for the ousting of all pro-Western officials.

President Nicolae Timofti has called parliamentary parties to consultations on Friday, with a view to designating a new candidate for the office of Prime Minister, but nobody seems optimistic about the republics European aspirations. Part of the former governing coalition, alongside the Liberals and the Liberal-Democrats, the Democrats have for some time now been negotiating with the Socialists and Communists in the opposition. The leader of the latter, the former president of Moldova Vladimir Voronin, pleads for a left-wing governing coalition, comprising the Communist Party, the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party. The Socialist chief, Igor Dodon, however, calls for early elections, which he is convinced his party would win without any problems.

Early elections will be held unless a new cabinet is appointed by the end of the year. The current matters are being managed by an interim government, following the ousting on October 29th of the former Liberal-Democrat Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet, under a no-confidence motion filed by Socialists and Communists and endorsed by the Democratic MPs. To Moldovas Western partners, the current political deadlock is almost unreal, given that last year the Republic of Moldova signed Association and Free-Trade agreements with Brussels and announced its potential accession to the EU in 2020.

‘Sit at the negotiations table without imposing any conditions, Elmar Brok, the Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, urged the leaders of the parties that have declared themselves ‘pro-Western. The political situation is disappointing and the governing parties have shown nothing but lack of professionalism and cowardice, wasting peoples trust, other members of the European Parliament have said. Romanian MEP Cristian Preda, a specialist in political sciences, believes that there are three main reasons why the political crisis in the Republic of Moldova has become so acute: Russias influence on the public opinion, the oligarchs uncontrollable power and corruption, which has rendered state institutions extremely vulnerable.

(Translation by M. Ignatescu)

26 November 2015