OPINIONS | Recean’s resignation, a tactical move? Next prime minister may aim for the presidency
Experts recommend that the new Cabinet of Ministers prioritize several key areas: economic growth, justice reform, accelerating European integration, improving the quality of life, reducing inflation, and increasing pensions. They emphasize the importance of having a diverse cabinet composition that includes not only representatives from the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) but also professionals from various fields and other political parties. This diversity will help ensure effective contributions to the consolidation of reforms.
Analysts believe that the Republic of Moldova needs a stable government, as well as the integration of new personalities: politicians, businessmen and experts in areas where deep and rapid changes are required. And the future prime minister, who could “take us to the European Union”, must be a “*representative” one.
Government with representatives of several political forces
Public policy expert from the Watchdog Community, Andrei Curăraru, believes that the future Government must be formed by people with expertise and openness to political cooperation.
"First of all, we need to see how the new government will be negotiated. Maybe it should be a government that reflects more political forces, not just PAS. We remember the President's promise to listen to the citizens and to bring more experience to the government. We understand that an offer may also be made to the informal group of the former leader of the DA platform, Dinu Plîngău. I think that, rather, we will have a government characterized by stability", declared Andrei Curărau, on Moldova 1 TV.
According to the same source, the future Government will have to assume a government program that will implement, in due time, the community acquis, the harmonization of legislation, as well as economic growth based on the 1.9 billion euro Growth Plan, financed by the European Union.
The public policy expert states that the new Prime Minister must be someone with sufficient public recognition to gain the population's support. According to him, several names of potential candidates for the position of prime minister are being circulated in the public space: “We see Vasile Tofan with a fairly motivated public campaign, I would say, to become the next prime minister. Several names are being circulated, including names with governance experience”.
He stressed, however, that more important than the names being circulated is the profile of the future prime minister.
“It must be someone who knows European policies closely, who has the capacity to implement the necessary reforms, to complete the justice reform, to ensure economic growth, as well as to take care of the social sector in the Republic of Moldova. (...) This should also be a starting point for the next prime minister — a prime minister who has personality, a program, as well as the capacity to implement reforms that, sometimes, may seem unpopular for the Republic of Moldova”, Curăraru pointed out.
"Opportune moment for new forces to come"
The expert believes that Dorin Recean's decision to step down as prime minister is not "surprising", given that he comes from the business world, a field from which "you cannot withdraw in the long term". At the same time, the analyst noted that the prime minister has been associated with a series of major crises, including the energy one.
"The essential change that society expected after the presidential elections was not produced, being, perhaps, an opportune moment for new forces to come, forces that would be more representative of the majority in 2025, forces that would come with a clear mandate, the mandate to take the Republic of Moldova into the European Union. Let's not forget about the timing of the upcoming elections. We could have a prime minister with claims to become the next president of the Republic of Moldova. This must still be taken into account in this tactical decision, I would say, coming also from within PAS", declared Curăraru.
He added that Dorin Recean will not completely disappear from the political scene, but rather temporarily withdraws to participate in the coordination and identification of a new governing formula, which would continue the strategic objective of the Republic of Moldova – the signing or at least the initialling of the Accession Agreement with the European Union by 2028.
Regarding the formation of the future Government, the WatchDog expert argues that, although PAS holds the majority, opening up to other political and professional forces would be beneficial.
"It would be a good idea to go into society, to appeal to different political forces, as well as civil society organizations, professionals, who would be called to be part of a broader government. This Government could be the one that takes us to the European Union and it must be representative", pointed out Wachdog expert, Andrei Curăraru.
"Recean's mandate was successful"
The government led by Dorin Recean has made a significant contribution to advancing the European integration process, claims political analyst Victor Juc. In an interview for Teleradio-Moldova, he mentioned that the screening for the preparation of accession negotiations was successfully completed, a fact confirmed by the European Commission. According to the expert, the change in the leadership of the Government is aimed at maintaining political continuity, as well as bringing "a new impulse and a new dynamic" to the activity of the Executive.
"I think they were quite good for the Republic of Moldova, especially in terms of modernization through reforms and democratization. The Republic of Moldova started the negotiations through screening, which is a preparatory stage for the community acquis. It successfully supported and completed them, as the European Commission also recognized. Given that the screening lasted for such a short period and ended with its conclusion, our conclusion is that the results are good. Of course, there were several problems that did not allow the Executive to fulfill everything it set out to do, but these are for the future. I think many people say to themselves that, periodically, inflation was increasing substantially or that the process of reforming the justice system was not completed, but this is not only up to the Government", said the expert.
Evaluating the two and a half years of his term at the helm of the Government, the analyst believes that Dorin Recean's term of office was a good one for the Republic of Moldova, especially in terms of institutional modernization and progress towards European integration.
"Dorin Recean will remain, or his term, as one that was successful. Maybe we expected more, but the situation is such that perhaps something more could have been done, but it was not achieved. A new impetus is needed for the Republic of Moldova, in a context in which, hopefully, negotiations on chapters regarding EU accession will be opened", the analyst pointed out.
The new Cabinet of Ministers must establish its priorities in accordance with the expectations of the electorate and the promises made by the ruling party, Victor Juc concluded.
PAS must prepare a new generation of leaders
Political analyst Ion Tabirta also believes that the new prime minister of the Republic of Moldova must be “a very good manager,” capable of working with his team and maintaining a constant dialogue with the ruling party and the head of state. He added that the Action and Solidarity Party must identify a suitable candidate, preferably from within the party, although he acknowledges that internal resources are limited.
"He must have his own vision of the development of the Republic of Moldova, based on the priorities we have. The number one priority is the process of accession to the European Union, but at the same time, there are fundamental aspects for the state of the Republic of Moldova and for our society, such as ensuring security, ensuring public order. All the problems that have existed so far have not disappeared, they will remain. The Russian Federation will not disappear, it will not abandon its intentions to influence political processes within the Republic of Moldova, but at the same time, we must move forward. Therefore, we need a manager who has a clear vision of the development of the Republic of Moldova and this development must result from the negotiation process for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union", commented Tabirta on Radio Moldova.
Asked whether the Parliament Speaker, Igor Grosu, will continue his activity in this position, the analyst mentioned that “most likely yes”: “But one thing is obvious: in the future, PAS needs a reformatting of the leadership team”.
The political analyst believes that the ruling party must prepare a new generation of leaders who will enjoy more trust from citizens.
“Because, if we look at personal trust in politicians, Mr. Grosu, as a party leader, enjoys a trust of 2–3%. And it is not only about Mr. Grosu, but also about the rest of the leaders within PAS. In our case, when a party wins the majority with a leader who is at the top of the list and has a trust of 2–3%, it is something out of the ordinary”, he said.
According to the expert, Maia Sandu remains the main political figure of the party, but PAS needs to expand its base of visible leaders: "We all understand that, in fact, the informal electoral locomotive of PAS and the person with whom everyone associates PAS is the president Maia Sandu, but anyway, I believe that PAS should have other politicians who enjoy the support and trust of the electorate, of the population."
Tăbîrță concluded that, regardless of the changes in the leadership, the party needs to refresh its team and prepare new leaders for the future.
Dorin Recean resigns from politics
On Monday, October 13, Prime Minister Dorin Recean announced that he is stepping down from his position. Despite the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) intending to retain him in the leadership of the future government, he has decided to resign from his role as a deputy, a position he won in the parliamentary elections held on September 28.
"My mandate will end with the expiration of the current government's mandate. I will not continue in public and political life; I will resign my deputy mandate as soon as we vote for the new government. After that, I will return to my professional career, which I put on hold a few years ago. However, I will always be available to support the team," Dorin Recean stated during a press conference at Parliament alongside PAS leader Igor Grosu.
Dorin Recean's government was inaugurated on February 16, 2023. Prior to this role, he served as a presidential advisor in the fields of defense and national security and was the secretary of the Supreme Security Council. He also held the position of Minister of Internal Affairs from 2012 to 2015.
