Some factions openly refuse to vote for his cabinet and program, while others suggest waiting and even creating a working group to develop a “unified national governance program. Nevertheless, the parliamentary session to approve the government will take place on Friday.
On Wednesday, October 29, Alexandru Munteanu held meetings with opposition parliamentary factions. The first meeting was with the faction of the Democrația Acasă (DA) party. “We should not rush to approve the government – nothing terrible will happen if we take a week of time so that the whole society, including the parliamentary factions, can understand what exactly awaits us with this cabinet. It will be a government of victims, without political responsibility,” said Vasile Kostiuc, the faction’s chairman. “DA” will not vote for the Munteanu government.
“Our Party” called for postponing the vote of confidence in the government and creating a working group of parliamentary factions and extra-parliamentary parties to develop a unified national governance program. “Yes, the program is structured in sections, contains many quantitative indicators and uses pro-European rhetoric. However, it lacks total costs, sources of funding by areas, implementation deadlines, budget impact assessment (deficit/debt), risk analysis and anti-corruption mechanisms for large projects,” the faction’s chairman, Renato Usatii, said.
Ion Ceban, a member of the faction of the Alternativa bloc, suggested including the capital’s mayor in the government: “Almost half of Moldova’s population lives in the Chisinau municipality. It does not matter who exactly holds the position of mayor, but it would be right for him to be a member of the government and to be able to speak on behalf of the half of the population that lives here and to maintain a direct link with the Moldovan government. We believe that we have something to say. It does not matter who the mayor is – it is important that he is a member of the government and can represent the interests of the capital’s residents.” At the same time, Alternativa promised to announce the final decision at the parliamentary session after considering the composition of the government and the program.
The PCRM faction said it is “open to dialog for the benefit of citizens, but will not participate in the spectacle called ‘change’ when everything remains the same behind the scenes.” “Our faction has heard Mr. Munteanu’s promises, but has not yet heard answers to the main questions: where is the money, who is responsible and how is the independence of the government ensured. Therefore, the faction of the Party of Communists sees no reason to support this cabinet,” said faction leader Diana Karaman. And former President Vladimir Voronin emphasized: “You cannot go blindfolded and maybe even with your mouth taped with a band-aid, and maybe even with your hands tied behind your back on different paths that will supposedly lead Moldova to prosperity. Moldova will prosper when we unite our entire society”.
PSRM said it would not vote for the Munteanu government and its program, which they said was “natural for the opposition.” “But given our experience in many fields, we are ready to put forward concrete proposals to improve the quality of life,” said faction leader Igor Dodon. At the same time, PSRM proposed to reduce the number of Cabinet members by 10 positions, which was reported to the candidate: “17 members of the Cabinet of Ministers is too many. The country has a limited budget and we consider this an impermissible luxury in the current difficult situation”.
Independent MP Vasile Tarlev said he has known Munteanu for a long time, “but today we are in different positions than before.” He reiterated his willingness to be open for cooperation, without clearly stating whether or not he would vote for his government.
The last consultation with the prime ministerial candidate was held by the majority faction of PAS, which nominated him after the corresponding proposal was received by Alexandru Munteanu from President Maia Sandu.
At a joint press conference with PAS Chairman Igor Grosu, Alexandru Munteanu described the consultations as constructive, “with very few exceptions”: “I listened, I promised to take into account the constructive proposals. We will create a platform for consultations with the whole cabinet”.
At the same time, the speaker rejected the opposition’s proposal to postpone the parliamentary vote for the government and said that the meeting to approve the Moldovan government will be held on Friday, October 31.
Alexandru Munteanu did not support Ion Ceban’s proposal to include the mayor in the government: “Neither the mayor of Paris nor the mayor of Bucharest are members of the government. 90% of the decisions discussed and adopted at the government meetings do not concern the Chisinau municipality”.
As for the structure of the government and the number of ministers, he said that they decided to keep the current structure: “And with time, we will see if we can change the situation for the better.”
On Thursday, October 30, at 11:00 a.m., the parliamentary formation session will continue, during which the deputy chairmen of the legislative body will be elected and the working bodies – the Permanent Bureau and the permanent commissions of the parliament – will be formed.
