Sandu outpaced Dodona
The pro-Western Moldovan President Maia Sandu once again beat her opponent Igor Dodon, who is considered pro-Russian. Sandu's consultations with parliamentary factions regarding the candidacy of prime minister led the Socialist Party to a dead end. Now they have to either appoint a head of government who is a supporter of Romania, the European Union and NATO, or go to early parliamentary elections.
Maya's Gambit
Towards the end of the political and institutional crisis, Moldovan President Maia Sandu held final consultations with parliamentary factions. The purpose of the consultations was to discuss the candidacy of a potential prime minister. If the parliamentary parties fail to find a consensus, Sandu intends to appeal to the Constitutional Court on March 23 with a request for the opportunity to dissolve parliament.
The pro-European DA Platform, led by Andrei Năstase, again proposed their party leader as the new prime minister in consultations. Sandu's PAS party has announced its desire for early parliamentary elections. The parliamentary majority, represented by the PSRM-Shor-ZaMoldova deputies, came to the consultation with old cards - a contender for the post of prime minister in the person of Mariana Durlesteanu.
Mariana Durlesteanu.
Dodon-Shor relied on the February decision of the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court annulled Sandu's decree on the re-nomination of her candidate Natalia Gavrilita for the post of prime minister and obliged the president to hold another consultation with the parliamentary majority and nominate their candidate. Socialists and deputies of Za-Moldova expected that the result of the discussion with Sandu would be a decree signed by her on the nomination of Durlesteanu to prime minister.
The President's consultations with the Socialist Party faction were the last on schedule and ended unexpectedly. In the midst of negotiations, Mariana Durlesteanu, who is now in London, published a statement that she was refusing to be nominated for the highest position in the Republic of Moldova. Taking advantage of the hesitation of the Socialists, for whom Durlesteanu’s statement was a surprise, Sandu signed a decree nominating her candidate, the acting chairman of her PAS party, Igor Grosu.
Backstab
Durlesteanu's decision was not only unexpected, but also offensive to those who defended her candidacy in all discussions over the past two months. She accused these political parties of immoral actions and “clownery” instead of solving pressing issues for the state: finding a way out of the epidemiological and economic crisis.
“I cannot allow my name and reputation to be used to settle scores between political clans, I came forward only out of a desire to help overcome crises and move the country forward,” this is how Mariana Durlesteanu argued her reluctance to continue participating in the political crisis.
The self-recusal came at the wrong time for the socialists. If she had done this last week, the parliamentary majority would have had the opportunity to nominate a new candidate. However, Durlesteanu announced her decision precisely at a time when the socialists were in consultations with the president and Maia Sandu took advantage of the situation.
PAS leader Igor Grosu.
She played ahead by appointing her own person as prime minister. Thus, Sandu overtook Dodon and Shor according to the constitutional procedure and appointed her own candidate, because at the decisive moment the coalition candidate backed down.
Between elections and epidemic
For Dodon, the president’s appointment of a new candidate for the post of prime minister indeed came as a surprise, which he directly stated at a press briefing. According to the ex-president, the parliamentary majority will not vote for the candidate Sandu and will try to protest the decree of the head of state in the Constitutional Court.
Constitutional law expert Teodor Cîrnac said that if the government led by Igor Grosu does not receive a vote of confidence from parliament, the head of state will be able to dissolve parliament. According to the law, all conditions for initiating the dissolution of the legislative forum will be met.
Theodor Kyrnac.
The expert also believes that there will be votes for the approval of this government, since some deputies have rethought the political situation.
“Parliament is currently between a rock and a hard place, some MPs who risk not getting into the next parliament are ready to vote for this government. It is possible that the socialists also came to the conclusion that it was better to abandon the government and cede power to the president. All these problems and the epidemiological situation will fall on the shoulders of the president and the government, which could reduce the rating of the head of state,” Kırnat added.
Political expert Alexander Muravsky called the appointment of Sandu as a candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Moldova as satisfaction of his power ambitions. He noted that a group of irresponsible politicians, hiding behind the voices of hundreds of thousands of citizens, is ready to drive these citizens to the cemetery.
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