​SOME EXPERTS POSITIVELY ASSESS FILIP GOVERNMENT’S ACTIVITY…

Experts are in general positively assessing the results of achieved by Prime Minister Pavel Filip’s Cabinet of Ministers over one year.

In an interview to Infotag, former chairman of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Economy, Budget and Finance Veaceslav Ionita, the current Government has come into power in a very inconvenient time – the time of decline in economy, in exports and imports, the time of breakdown in relations with external partners, decline in remittances from abroad.

“However, the Filip’s Cabinet managed to rehabilitate relations with foreign partners and unblock their financing to Moldova”, he reminded.

He regarded as one of minuses in Filip’s premiership the transferring of 13.26 billion lei, provided by the National Bank of Moldova under Government’s guarantees to three bankrupt banks, into state debt.

“However, Filip did not have field for maneuver. Thus, we have what we have. In general, my assessment of the Government’s activities is positive. In terrible conditions, it managed to bring Moldova out of a huge recession. Moreover, I suppose that this crisis was even stronger than those from 1998 and 2009. However, the situation still remains very far from normal”, Ionita said.

His opinion is shared by political scientist Roman Mihaes, who complimented the Government on keeping the situation under control.

He also pointed at the fact that the Moody’s Agency has raised Moldova’s rating from negative to stable, which served as a positive signal for foreign capital.

“In 2017, Filip’s Cabinet has to achieve a no less ambitious goal – a considerable reduction of the central administration apparatus with giving it a maximum efficiency. This is the touchstone due to which Moldovan citizens will have the opportunity to check Filip’s team trustworthiness”, Mihaes said.

…BUT OTHERS HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS

The unblocking of external financing is the only positive aspect of a year of Prime Minister Pavel Filip’s ruling, maintains political scientist and economist Victor Cebanu.

In an interview to Infotag, he stressed that without signing a new memorandum with the IMF and the financial assistance from the EU, the Government would simply not manage to cover the elementary needs of the population.

“However, they did not achieve anything more. All the rest of actions and the declared reforms are nothing but a publicity stunt. The Government is working for its image, but not for the needs of citizens. Despite the fact that Pavel Filip stated that Moldova came out from the crisis situation and that new reforms are improving the situation in the country, 90% of the population do not feel this”, Cebanu said.

According to Institute of Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) “Viitorul” Director Igor Munteanu, Filip’s Government is not implementing real reforms, but is just trying to lower costs for state institution maintenance.

“Filip is stating about reforms in prosecution system, central administration, education system, as a result of which the number of ministries, educational institutions, prosecutor’s offices will decrease. But life will not improve due to this if no cardinal changes are introduced into the very work of these institutions. However, no one is doing this and all the state structures are working as weakly as before”, the expert said.

He added that the progress, if it really exists, comes exclusively from foreign partners’ requirements but definitely not from the Moldovan authorities’ governance program.

“In order to get the money, Moldova had to fulfill five-six EU requirements and six more – from the side of Romania. The Government has fulfilled these, yet partially. This can be observed in the fact that the corruption level remained as high as last year. Even if the authorities insist that they are acting transparently, in reality this is not so. Let us take as example the procedure of appointing the Prosecutor General, in which the winner has been known from the very beginning, or the so-called law on tax amnesty. The Government approved it, because this law serves interests of certain people”, the expert maintains.

Infotag’s dossier: The Government, headed by DP member Pavel Filip, was appointed by the Parliament on January 20, 2016. The new Cabinet of Ministers was supported by MPs of Liberal Party and Democratic Party parliamentary factions. In the same night, Pavel Filip took oath. The inauguration was held after 23:00 in the President’s Residence. Meanwhile, supporters of the opposition party “Demnitate si Adevar” [DA, “Dignity and Justice”], were protesting in front of the Parliament building.