AEI mechanism worked based on logic of party interests, Ion Tabirta

[Info-Prim Neo article from the series “2011: how it was and how it wasn’t”. Repeat from 12.12.11] {“AEI agreement – one year of government” as seen by political analyst Ion Tabirta} The main quality of the Alliance for European Integration 2 (AEI 2) is the poor institutional functionality. The alliance’s mechanism worked based on the logic of party interests that prevailed in all the decisions taken by the member parties. In fact, an alliance was created inside the alliance at the very beginning. It was the duo of the weaker parties the PDM and PL against the more powerful party the PLDM, considers political analyst Ion Tabirta. According to the analyst, the alliance survived owing to the alliance components’ wish to remain in power. “When the first alliance was formed, the parties were united by the fight against communism. The AIE 2 has been dominated by the economic interests of the groups that are behind the political parties. Readjusting the institutional system created by the PCRM to their own interests, the components of the alliance preferred to coexist problematically rather than to lose power,” said Ion Tabirta. He believes that if time is turned back, the AEI 2 Agreement will suffer no changes. “When the AEI 2 was constituted, they said the new agreement will take into account all the drawbacks of the first agreement, but nothing practically changed. The PLDM’s attempt to change something met with the resistance of the alliance partners. The existence of three senior state posts when the alliance parties have numeric parity makes the leaders of the parties fight for one of these posts,” said the political analyst. Asked to what extent the relations inside the AEI and in the country in general were regulated by the written and unwritten rules of the AEI agreement, Ion Ţabirta said they were respected to a very small degree. “The political parties in fact tried to simulate an agreement on the formation of AEI 2. The failed attempt to form democratic alliances all over the country after the local elections of this summer is a relevant example in support of this assertion,” said the analyst. Speaking about a possible modification of the form of government, Ion Tabirta said a ruling alliance composed of the PCRM and PDM started to take shape. The PL can govern only as part of the current alliance. The PLDM may accept the Party of Socialists headed by Igor Dodon in the governmental team, while the PDM can form either a center-left or a center-right alliance. On December 30, 2011 it will be a year of the signing of the agreement on the formation of the Alliance for European Integration between the PLDM, PDM and PL. [Irina Turcanu, INFO-PRIM NEO]