The Socialist Party is against a minority government proposed by ACUM. The bloc’s legislative proposals cannot be registered and passed without a formal parliamentary majority and without an invested Parliament leadership. The PSRM is also against snap elections, but if a middle ground cannot be reached with ACUM, this could be an option. Across the table, ACUM says snap elections following the same mixed voting rules is “a dangerous path” for Moldova. Instead, maintains the bloc, there is a way to fix a host of issues through the current legislature, and namely by adopting the so-called “de-oligarchization measures”. To achieve this, political will is needed rather than a formal coalition or majority. These are some of the takeaways of a first-ever bilateral meeting, held in front of cameras, between PSRM and ACUM representatives.
After the discussion, the Socialist Party’s chief ideologist Ion Ceban complained about the “absolute rigidity” shown by ACUM. “We told them that we were ready to examine everything they had. We told them what we were not ready to examine (e.g. the Magnitsky Law) and we wanted to know their position about a majority coalition – the only solution there is to forming a stable government in Moldova”.
Ceban added it was “surprising and regretful” that ACUM, with only 26 MP seats won, sought both the post of Prime Minister and that of Speaker. He also said that the Socialists were flexible to discuss ACUM’s proposed bills, but wanted to make their own initiatives heard too. “We don’t want to replace all their bills with ours, we want our opinion to be taken into account”, stated Ion Ceban, adding that the PSRM would decide on its next steps at the party’s national council meeting tomorrow.
Asked about what concessions ACUM was ready to make, Alexandru Slusari, one of the bloc’s leading members, said it’s important to first establish principles before any office allocation talks could take place. “If we see that there is openness to endorse our legislative package, maybe other proposal will be made, maybe they have something too, and then we can start discussing how to form Parliament’s managing bodies. The commissions and the Standing Bureau can be formed on a proportional basis”, said Slusari. As concerns the Socialists’ initiatives, ACUM was willing to discuss anything but the “socially divisive” ones.
Slusari stressed that today’s discussion wasn’t a negotiation, but “a meeting to clarify positions”, and what ACUM expected from the Socialists was a clear-cut declaration that they were not considering an alliance with the PDM and were “ready to fight against this mafia regime”.
MP Mihai Popșoi, another ACUM delegate, said the approval of the “de-oligarchization package” was critical for the bloc. Otherwise, “we cannot discuss a coalition, as our Socialist colleagues insisted several times, because of our program differences. Actually this insistence of the PSRM on a potential coalition and office allocation makes us a bit wary”, said Popșoi. As a first step, Popșoi suggests, the PSRM might want to prove their commitment to de-oligarchization by endorsing a formal declaration in Parliament pronouncing Moldova a “captive state”, which can be done without a Speaker. Then Parliament’s leadership could be formed and bills of both sides be considered. “The legislation is sometimes ambiguous. But if we reach consensus with the PSRM on a joint anti-oligarchy package, the rest will find a solution pretty fast”, said Mihai Popșoi.