Expert: Every Crisis Brings Another Layer of Bureaucracy

The end of the week was marked by a spat between Igor Grosu and Igor Dodon, as well as the announced launch of yet another bureaucratic structure with questionable purposes and powers

The tension building up around the authorities’ failures and the deteriorating security situation, including the growing number of drone incursions into and crashes on Moldovan territory, partly as a result of the country’s full-scale involvement in Ukraine’s military logistics and the Ukrainian president’s own movements, is gradually breaking through into the open and becoming a matter of public attention. The prevailing conditions, marked by shrinking external funding for Chisinau during a period free of electoral events, as well as global supply-chain problems, offer the government little prospect of stable conditions in which to demonstrate the results of its rule. Especially since the functionality and public perception of Vasile Tofan’s government are being systematically undermined by internal problems, scandals, and documented cases of corruption. It appears that even within the executive branch there is an understanding that curbing the appetites of the party apparatus is impossible. The dispute over the new prime minister’s role in the system has already taken place, albeit in absentia, between Tofan and Igor Grosu, with the latter emerging victorious. The country should therefore brace itself for difficult times ahead. When the budget was revised, many opposition proposals, including calls to allocate funds to parents of schoolchildren at the start of the academic year and to provide households with compensation for utility bills, failed to win the support of PAS members and the government. MPs and the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) acknowledge the possibility of further increases in gas prices. Without even waiting for the new month, Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu was already forecasting a sharp rise in electricity prices. All these deeply alarming expectations are being directly attributed to an unfavorable external environment over which Chisinau has virtually no ability to exercise any influence. In addition to rising prices for all types of fuel and utilities, inflation in the country is set to accelerate, as the National Bank sharply changed its monetary policy on Thursday, raising the key interest rate from 7.5% to 9%. Thus, not only will taxes increase, in light of the so-called “harmonization of VAT rates”, but domestic credit resources will also become less affordable. Expensive electricity, inaccessible credit, high taxation, and declining scores across international rankings on democracy, openness, and the fight against corruption: under such conditions, there can be no serious investment from either domestic or foreign businesses. The only thing that will grow is bank profits, while virtually every other sector of the economy will be plunged into crisis and scarcity. The “shock measures” against Transnistrian businesses have also backfired: the withdrawal of VAT exemptions has led to a contraction in trade, while budget revenues from the activities of businesses on the left bank have fallen sharply. The predictable economic deterioration has also affected the power structure, ricocheting back in the form of yet another round of pointless reshuffles in ministries and government agencies. On Thursday, the prime minister announced the launch of Moldova Project, a new structure tasked with implementing the government’s strategic projects. These include infrastructure development, the construction of hospitals and roads, irrigation projects, and energy initiatives. Even a new prison in the capital was mentioned, despite the fact that efforts to build it have been dragging on since 2013. The government plans to spend around 45 million lei a year on the agency’s operations, with the average monthly salary at the Office for the Implementation of Strategic Projects expected to exceed 120,000 lei. This has already drawn criticism from Socialist leader Igor Dodon. The MP accused Vasile Tofan of “inflating the state apparatus”, pointing to a 20,000 increase in the number of civil servants over the past 5 years and hinting at the employment of numerous relatives. Mircea Esanu, the head of the Public Services Agency, has been proposed to lead Moldova Project. The agency was recently embroiled in a scandal involving the arrest of officials accused of corruption violations in the issuance of neutral license plates to drivers from the Transnistrian region. The creation of the new structure amounts to an admission that either the government does not trust the competence or integrity of the agencies responsible for developing the country’s infrastructure, particularly Vladimir Bolea’s ministry and Bolea himself, or it intends to become directly involved in the allocation of funds and various schemes involving contractors, project costs, and other related matters. Difficulties in preparing and implementing the budget are beginning to spill over into domestic politics. PSRM is threatening the authorities with mass protests over rising prices and tariffs. Socialist leader Igor Dodon explicitly invoked the example of neighboring Romania, where shepherds staged active protests this week: “Get to work. A very difficult period lies ahead for our citizens. Either do your job or resign, and let’s hold early elections.” Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu was clearly unfazed by the statement, apparently understanding that the regime can always step up criminal proceedings against the former president: “Igor Dodon and protests are like the sun and the moon: they never meet.” The Socialist leader responded on social media with a metaphor about a lunar eclipse: “…the next mass protests could mean an eclipse and the end of PAS’ disgraceful rule. The people want early elections to get rid of the incompetent people who have driven the population into poverty.” The rhetorical sparring of parliamentarians already close to political bankruptcy failed to impress anyone in particular, but it did serve as an indicator of the tensions simmering beneath the surface. In essence, this was yet another demonstration of the growing divide between the authorities and society, with the opposition occupying an uncertain role as it seeks to capitalize on people’s moods and concerns in order to strike a deal with the regime or at least boost its own ratings. The question of who will actually propose effective solutions to stabilize the socio-economic situation, rather than create new bureaucratic structures for PAS insiders, once again remains unanswered.