"Minefield" for the New President of Moldova

Sergiu CEBAN Ion Chicu’s government resignation will refocus attention on Maia Sandu, who after the inauguration will have to take responsibility for further political situation development in the country Before Igor Dodon’s farewell speech, (made to sum up his four-year mandate), Ion Chicu decided to step down. The prime minister motivated this step by the need to provoke early parliamentary elections. At the same time, it is not yet clear whether will Chicu remain in office until the new cabinet is appointed, or will he leave his post whilst one of the ministers is to take his chair. The final decision is expected to be made after meeting with Maia Sandu, who will officially take office today. It is difficult to imagine that the new president will offer the ex-prime minister to continue performing her functions, given that harsh criticism she made of the government and its leadership. Therefore, Ion Chicu will probably leave his post, just as several ministers who formed his entourage. The government resignation on December 23 was quite unexpected for most experts and analysts. After all, the statements that preceded this testified that such a step would be made when the most suitable moment for Igor Dodon and for the informal parliamentary majority occurs. However, a combination of hidden factors and not least the personal position of Ion Chicu led to political processes acceleration. At first, such a turn seems a tactical victory for the opposition and personally for Maia Sandu, who, after the election campaign, threw all their strength into criticizing the government and urging it to step down as soon as possible. However, upon situation closer examined, the picture ceases to be so unambiguous. The outgoing Igor Dodon has actually shifted responsibility for the situation in the country onto the new president, recommending Maya Sandu to immediately begin discussions with all political forces and appoint an interim government. He expressed as well the idea to jointly work out a roadmap to create conditions that will lead to early elections to the country's legislative body. Political parties reacted differently to Chicu 's decision and subsequent proposals from the outgoing president. The political formation PAS, close to the president-elect, categorically rejected the possibility of forming any transit government, relentlessly adhering to the idea of early elections, which, by the way, should mature by law after two failed parliament attempts to appoint a new cabinet. In this regard, the DA Platform position is strikingly different, which, unlike its partners in the ACUM bloc, does not risk leaving the country completely without a cabinet under the current conditions, and is ready for any kind of scenario, including appointing a “transitory” government. Even all the current situation’s drawbacks, many parliamentary factions, being deprived of real electoral prospects, are ready to "rule" the country at least for a short time ahead of possible elections. Therefore, hypothetically, one should not exclude the nomination of the same Andrei Nastase as a new interim prime minister with a motley team of specialists delegated by various factions. Whichever path the political situation takes, one thing is certain: the next six months will become a period of political instability, tough pre-election confrontation and, in principle, a difficult test for the country. Apparently, the main socialists’ calculation is that during the next months the situation in the country will degrade so much that any citizen will see and understand the striking contrast between the relatively stable period of Igor Dodon's presidency and the turbulence in the country under Maia Sandu. Government’s resignation will indeed begin to smoothly refocus attention on the president-elect, who is forced to act as an arbiter and resist political pressure coming from the parliamentary forces, which will inevitably occur in the current situation of uncertainty. At the current stage, most experts agree that Maia Sandu is at the edge of a"minefield" and in the very near future might find herself in a position that is commonly called "zugzwang". Since her every step will be fraught with sensitive political risks, the main of which is blocking the process of launching the procedure for early parliamentary elections by the hands of the president. Nobody knows to what extent, the cooperation ties between Igor Dodon and Ilan Shor are preserved for one more "technocratic government" surprise to appear. But, apparently, the socialists, who promptly pushed their opponents to the "front line" and further complicated their lives adopting a number of resonant laws, are totally ready to step back into the opposition shadow before early elections and are now providing the pro-European forces with the opportunity to deal with all Moldovan problems’ baggage. The sad experience of independent Moldova’s development shows that such an approach has its reason, since not a single president, parliament or government has been able to effectively cope with the colorful “bouquet” of Moldovan chronic diseases that have only worsened over the years and have systematically destroyed the state organism.