Ostalep: Three Ministers from the Same Village - Not a Mere Coincidence

“It is naive to believe that the three new ministers’ appointments were initiated by Prime Minister Dorin Recean,” former Deputy Foreign Minister Valeriu Ostalep said. The political analyst says that these “reshuffles” stem from the plan to “consolidate the power of the Spînu group”. According to him, Andrei Spînu has close ties with the new Interior Minister Adrian Efros and with the current Labour and Social Protection Minister Alexei Buzu, all the three come from the village of Ratuş, noi.md reports. Ostalep believes it is no mere coincidence. “I can't help looking at Spînu, who comes from the village of Ratuş, and I look at the Minister of Social Protection, who is his friend, he is also from Ratuş. It is nepotism. I look at the new Minister of Interior place of birth. He is from Ratuş. A Coincidence, is not it?! That is how I see the principle of ministers’ selection. Is the appearance of the new Interior Minister on the stage during the demonstration on 21 May a pure coincidence too?! “Thus, Moldovan politics is provincial, rural, based on nepotism, and I do not say it to offend. The appointment of this person (Adrian Efros) is a clear strengthening of the administrative apparatus of Spînu, who today heads the Infrastructure Ministry and has access to huge financial resources, including the Road Fund,” Ostalep said on the program Puterea a patra. According to Ostalep, all these actions of the authorities indicate that the PAS is preparing for local elections, and the main personality managing this process will be Andrei Spînu. “After all, Maia Sandu came to power not thanks to Recean, but along with Spînu,” Ostalep highlights. “I do not think that Recean is happy about these appointments, I do not think there are naive people who believe that Recean appointed these ministers. Recean failed to prove himself as a leader in Moldova, and it is the executive that rules the country. Then we see that someone imposes on him personalities he does not agree with, these people are not loyal to him, which means one cannot talk about political or administrative autonomy. For me it means that Recean’s time as Prime Minister is running out – he will ‘stay afloat’ four months,” Ostalep added. Under these conditions, the analyst says, if Dorin Recean resigns - the Prime Minister mandate may go to Andrei Spînu.