To Alexandru Munteanu
The current political drama resembles the scenario from February 2023, when Natalia Gavrilita stepped down as prime minister. As a reminder, at the turn of 2022–2023, Moldova was experiencing a severe energy crisis. Gas rates for end consumers skyrocketed to an unprecedented 29.27 lei per cubic meter (nearly seven times higher than pre-crisis levels). This was followed by record inflation—over 30%. As reported at the time, gas was purchased at the peak of spot prices, and even after Gavrilita’s cabinet stepped down, the population continued for a long time to “pay off” that very “expensive Spinu gas”—that is, the gas associated with Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu. Some accused him of the failure of negotiations with “Gazprom,” others of the negotiations themselves, and later of “gas schemes.” Spinu, of course, had slogans along the lines of: “For the first time in history, the Right Bank is not consuming Russian gas,” but the trail of scandals surrounding his name outweighed everything else. The government’s political capital had been completely exhausted. After reviewing internal party polls, the ruling PAS party apparently decided at that point to sacrifice the Cabinet and start everything “from scratch.” With a clean slate, so to speak.
Does history repeat itself twice?
History has repeated itself now. The trigger was a high-profile corruption scandal surrounding MoldATSA, a strategic state-owned enterprise responsible for flight safety. It all began with an investigation by journalists who discovered that the company’s appointed head, Dumitru Vangeli, had falsified his resume. Following this, the spotlight turned to Anastasia Taburchanu (former government press secretary and a relative of President Maia Sandu), who, according to media reports, was receiving a monthly salary of 120,000 lei and, according to some, rarely showed up for work. Audits by the National Anti-Corruption Center confirmed violations related to hiring, procurement, and unjustified expenditures. The investigation is ongoing.
The second—or perhaps parallel—powerful blow to Munteanu’s cabinet was the tax and salary reform. An unprecedented event: a member of the Cabinet—specifically, Health Minister Emil Ceban—harshly criticized the reform, “going against the system,” and declaring that the reform would “destroy the healthcare system.”
The salary reform was also not well understood . Finance Minister Andrian Gavrilita admitted that few people in the country understood it. Therefore, they have already promised to revise the draft.
To be fair, it’s worth noting that Maia Sandu herself said in a television interview that World Bank experts were involved in developing the wage reform. But who cares about that anymore?
All these factors have built up a critical mass of negativity. As a result, Maia Sandu once again had no choice but to “shuffle the cabinet”:
“Yes, I believe these reforms could have been developed, coordinated, and explained better so that we could gain the public’s support and their confidence that what we’re doing is in the country’s best interest.”
Both then and now, outgoing prime ministers have been told the same thing: “Thank you for your work under difficult conditions,” with assurances that “the motherland will not forget you.” However, there are two major differences between Gavrilita and Munteanu. Natalia Gavrilita remained in the government and continued to cooperate with the State Chancellery under an officially signed agreement. Alexandru Munteanu, on the other hand, appears to be leaving for good.
Will the prime minister appoint his own people?
…Education Minister Dan Perchun was recently spotted at the Presidential Administration building, which immediately sparked rumors about his possible appointment as prime minister. Perchun himself, however, was quick to distance himself from these predictions, making it clear that he intends to continue working in his ministry. In other words, he effectively denied the rumors. “But when has that ever been a problem for us?” the reader might ask—and would be absolutely right.
It is important to note that a school reform is being carried out under the auspices of the Minister of Education and Research, and when presenting this project in parliament, Perchun even managed to “charm” the opposition. Seventy-three schools will close on September 1 “without fanfare.” This experience could certainly be useful now for both tax and wage reforms.
Another candidate actively discussed in the media is former Prime Minister Ion Sturza. Commenting on the future of the executive branch, Sturza stated bluntly:
“We need to promote our own people, local people. Those who have really worked hard in the party and risen from the ranks, rather than those who came in ready-made to divide up power. We need people who have been through elections, know how to persuade the public, and take responsibility for their actions.”
Whether this is a self-exclusion or a recommendation from others is unclear from Sturza’s post.
Whoever becomes the new prime minister will be a “political lightning rod,” according to MP Alexander Stoyanoglo
“It will be someone willing to take all the blows so they don’t reach the presidency. Even at the cost of their own political career. And they will certainly find someone like that. The problem is that a lightning rod doesn’t stop the storm. It merely lets it pass through itself,” Stoyanoglo believes.
President Maia Sandu is expected to hold consultations with parliamentary factions in the near future to nominate a candidate for the position of prime minister. So far, no faction has announced whether it will participate in these negotiations.
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