Moldova's parliamentary opposition says not to support investiture of Government led by Vasile Tofan

The parliamentary opposition has announced that it would not support the investiture of the government led by designated Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, who is expected in parliament today.

The leader of the Moldovan Party of Socialists (PSRM), Igor Dodon, has said that the PSRM MPs would vote against the new cabinet of ministers and the proposed governing programme.

“Obviously, we will vote against this government and its program. Practically, the same members of the government remain. You cannot just reshuffle positions, while keeping the same people. Nothing will change,” Igor Dodon said.

For his part, Deputy Parliament Speaker, PSRM MP Vlad Batrancea criticized the activity programme presented by Vasile Tofan. The socialist lawmaker said that he had expected the newly designated prime minister to propose a reduction in the number of ministries and an optimization of administrative structures.

“I had a modest hope that he would reduce the number of ministries and come up with some optimization, given that we have fewer citizens and a budget under pressure,” Vlad Batrancea said.

The leader of Our Party, Renato Usatii, also criticized the composition of the new cabinet of ministers and said that his party cannot support the government proposed by Vasile Tofan. According to Usatii, some of the ministers who also served in the previous government are performing well, but this is not enough to support the entire governmental team.

“We cannot support this government today, because we will see ministers who were part of the previous administration. I believe that some of these ministers are doing their job well. But, at the same time, there are very important ministries, including the Interior Ministry and the Justice Ministry, where Moldova needs very strong people, especially given the situation faced by our country,” Renato Usatii said.

The leader of Our Party also questioned the stability of the future government, noting that the new cabinet might not withstand the entire mandate.

The president of the Democracy at Home Party, Vasile Costiuc, likewise announced that his formation would not support the investiture of the Tofan government. However, he praised the activity programme and strategies presented by the designated prime minister, emphasizing that they must be implemented in practice.

“The programme is a very good one. These are written plans, strategies and development directions that, in my opinion, can be supported. We have voted for and will support projects that aim to harmonize and develop Moldova. However, the problem is implementation. It is not enough to have a good programme and strategies written on dozens of pages. They must be turned into concrete projects and implemented. We will not support the Tofan government, but we will analyze and support good projects that will come to parliament and that will contribute to the country’s development,” Vasile Costiuc said.

The government led by designated Prime Minister Vasile Tofan today is to request the parliament’s vote of confidence. The MPs will examine the government’s  activity programme and the composition of the new cabinet of ministers.