Moldovan Democrats' leader confident in achievement of interesting results with new governmental formula

Chisinau, 21 December /MOLDPRES/ - Interview given exclusively to the MOLDPRES State News Agency by the leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), Vlad Plahotniuc.   

Question: You have reshuffled more than a half of the government. Did you want to make a surprise with impact on the public through the unexpected appointments? 

Answer: This was a surprise for us too, to a certain extent. When we announced that we would make reshufflings, we were not thinking about the formula we reached. During one month, together with the prime minister, we were analyzing what is the best combination, so that the government’s efficiency be enhanced, in order to strengthen and depoliticize the most important sectors, such as justice and economy, as well as how should we do to have a more venturesome government, one that is to frontally attack the problems faced by the country and solve them.     

Q: To what extend were your decisions the ones of the prime minister and to what extent of the coalition partners? 

A: This was a collective decision, which yet exceeded the persons you have mentioned, as we consulted with many persons outside the political sphere, with people from different fields of activity, who made us tens of recommendations, which we took into account. There were discussions with a lot of persons on this period and a positive aspect is that we have discovered several extraordinary professionals among the candidacies evaluated. The government colleagues will keep in touch with them in continuation and will appeal to their expertise.   

Q: Undoubtedly, the weighty names from the new cabinet are Iurie Leanca, Alexandru Tanase and Chiril Gaburici. How have you got to these appointments?   

A: These are well-known persons in their professional field, in the sectors they will manage. I do not think that there is somebody who can sincerely contest their capacities in the fields where they will work. The goal of the ruling Coalition is to boost the concerned sectors of activity, to switch to a new phase of their development.   

Comprehensive reforms are needed in justice. As for the economy and infrastructure field, I think that the challenges will be big, as a vast programme on modernizing the road infrastructure follows, and in the European integration sector, our activities must switch ever more from a zone delimited in ministries towards a strategic zone of national development, which has at its basis the European integration and which we will promote at the highest level possible. Look, how complex these fields become and you have already got an answer to the question why persons with rich experience in these sectors of activity were invited to the government.  

Q: Maia Sandu and some experts reproach you that you have brought people from the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) to the government and that PDM does not have people. Have you remade the PLDM-PDM governance?  

A: Iurie Leanca and Alexandru Tanase were once PLDM members, that’s true. Yet, unlike Maia Sandu, they had left PLDM much before the disaster started there, invoking and anticipating just the problems which eventually led to the collapse of the party.   

Unlike Maia Sandu, they spoke about those problems and took attitude. Mrs. Sandu stayed up to the end, to turn off the light, made social havoc in the education sector and then made a party and now she shows herself to people as white, spotless. I understand very well the worry of Mrs. Sandu – these are her former colleagues, she knows their qualities and she understands that they will have important results. Or, the opposition is always bothered by the success recorded by the governance, even if this is the success of the citizens as well.     

The fact that, out of 14 cabinet members, two or three were once PLDM members is not negative at all. These are people with achievements, first of all, in their activity sectors – they are known through this, first of all, not via their affiliation to a party in the past. Besides, this is a proof that we do not suffer from prejudices or anger.   

As for the fact that PDM would not have people, this is an amusing statement. On the one hand, some people accuse me of usurpation or that I appoint close persons to offices; on the other hand, when they see that thinks do not happen this way, they are on the point of charging me with not appointing close people to me or from PDM to offices. Look, this is the level of the political polemic at present. Without substance and often without logic.   

People from outside PDM have been nominated to offices, as we want a government not only of professionals, but which is also to have an as big social and political representativeness as possible. It is for the first time ever that such a governmental formula, with a wide spectrum, is tried in Moldova and I am sure that it will yield interesting results. Maybe this is what some people are scared of.    

Q: And Chiril Gaburici was in a way a PLDM member – he was put forward by this party for the office of prime minister, isn’t it? Tell us also how you comment on the situation concerning his graduation diploma.    

A: Chiril Gaburici was put up by PLDM to the then coalition along with more candidacies. In particular, a man was sought who was supposed not to be politician, as we had a minority government and it had to be accepted by the opposition too. I don’t recall whether he was a PLDM member. On the contrary, I recall that he was treated quite badly by some representatives of this party, as long as he was in office. As for the graduation diploma, I now look with surprise how analysts or journalists who made a wall around him, when he was prime minister,  to protect him from attacks dealing with the concerned diploma, now attack him on this subject. This is a chameleonic behavior, a typical opportunistic one, which tells a lot about the seriousness of these attacks, as well as about their ethics. Chiril Gaburici has occasion to respond to these criticisms by results in the office to which he was appointed. But we did not appoint him for this, but to work for settling some very important problems from the economy and infrastructure sector; we are interested in his abilities to manage such an important field as the one of economy and infrastructure. And the citizens, I am sure, will evaluate him also, according to the results.          

Q: What you were discontented with as for the ministers who left the offices?  

A: I said from the very beginning that it is not about discontents, but it is about a regrouping of forces, in order to catalyze some governmental and political processes. It would be also incorrect for one to declare him/herself discontented when the government is on full rise, the economy as well, reforms are really carried out – a thing confirmed also on the last days by the approval of a new installment of money by IMF, after it had positively evaluated the reforms carried out by the government.     

Against January 2016, when PDM took over the leadership of the government, the latter’s level of confidence among citizens is four-fold higher. So how can one say that he/she is discontented? Yet, we said quite clearly, when we did the government’s reform, when we cut the number of ministries, that we would also come up with changes as to the level of institutions’ management. As, following the merger of institutions, wider zones of competence appeared and we needed to find people fit to manage them. At the same time, the ministers withdrawn have got a special education and experience which can be applied in new fields, also of great responsibility.        

At that time, the prime minister discussed with some of the ministers and asked them to ensure the transition period till the integration of the new institutions, with the changes announced due to take place afterwards. This is namely what stays at the basis of the reshuffling, as well as the fact that we started a process of government’s depoliticizing. The contests for the state secretaries and state secretary generals were held; for the first time being, they come from the professional environment and not from the political one, just as the deputy ministers were earlier distributed by political sharing. So, the reshufflings of ministers represent, in fact, a continuation of this process.     

The staff rotation is only natural and is a necessary element in the high-level management. New people, with fresh visions come to offices, and most of those who left the positions will have important tasks in the party, while others will possibly have such tasks in other institutions.     

Q: Are you contented with the work of Pavel Filip?  

A: Prime Minister Pavel Filip is a surprise even for me, who has been knowing  him for many years. I always knew that he is a serious, hard-working man, but on the occasion of his stay in this office, I discovered also how well-organized, balanced, scrupulous is he, as well as concerned with results and efficiency.       

I have never spoken about how difficult for us it was to persuade him to accept the office in 2016, neither about how little he wants this position. May people speculated that he was going to be changed, that I am going to be prime minister. Just on the last days, they insisted on this false thesis, but nobody knows what fights I waged so that he accepts this office. I repeat, we have wanted him and we continue to want him in this high office, as he can be professional and responsible.      

This is for you to understand what far the reality from the speculations which appear sometimes is. And when you see speculations of this kind, just filter them like this.    

Q: What are your expectations from the new governmental formula?

A: The new government has a single goal and it will achieve it – the one to be really the government which represents the citizens, which listens to them and solves their problems. Everything will take places around this objective. This is, in fact, the continuation of the mission started back in 2016.   

We will keep the government far from what is happening on the political stage. Who wants political struggles, let him/her fight with me and my PDM colleagues; we, however, we take care that the cabinet has the needed peace to work efficiently for the people. We will continue going to the territory and discuss with citizens, to convey to the government their problems, to ask for their settlement, to politically back the solutions emerging.     

Q: Do you feel politically satisfied after this year?

A: I feel like a man who completes a stage and switches to another one – to a new level, which I feel as a big challenge. This is already mobilizing me and makes me look forward to the beginning of the New Year.    

This will be a very interesting year, with many new elements of approach of the governance. But also with a clear-cut proof of the responsible attitude towards the citizens, both on behalf of PDM and the government. Although it will be an electoral year, it will be the year of important changes of attitude and efficiency.   

Q: How much will PDM get at the elections due in 2018? 

A: PDM’s score will be directly proportional to the results we will have during the year. If the results are good and reach the citizens, so you expect a quite high score. And how these results will be eventually depends on us, on how we will work.     

Q: Thank you. 

A: Thank you too and I wish happy holidays to you and your readers. May you have a better New Year, to which we will also try to contribute as much as possible.