The Best Woman in Politics of 2017, Democrat VP Cristina Balan has begun her new career as Moldovan Ambassador to the United States after being nominated by PDM leader Vlad Plahotniuc. PUBLIKA has had a conversation with Her Excellency Cristina Balan in Eurodictionar (Europe dictionary) show host by our journalist Cristian Tabără. 

Cristina Balan: It's good to be here. Thank you very much, Cristi. I am also glad that my first time ever on TV is with you, as we have known each other for quite a while. I do feel very comfortable here in the studio.

Cristian Tabără: I am very glad. Indeed, we have known each other for quite a while and I am not lying when I say that I kept trying to talk Cristina into participating in this program at various stages of her career. I could not, but let us forget my failures, as finally she is here.

I would like us all to understand, after all, who is Cristina Balan. Let us start from the very beginning, if you agree.

Let us talk about the family where you grew up, about your family, your professional history.

Let us go one by one, as people should understand you after all. I did my homework here. I see you did yours as well... Which is good. So, what kind of person are you, Cristina Balan, where do you come from, how did you appear in the Republic of Moldova, in what kind of a family?

Cristina Balan: I would like to start with the present and then go into the past, as this is more important.

I am deputy chair of PDM, responsible for foreign relations of the party and I am involved in the process of developing foreign policies, economic policies and other. As you have probably noticed, PDM is quite active on the international level: we collaborate intensely with media abroad, with key institutions that help us secure the European path of our country, and I am glad that I have a strong team of seniors and juniors, which contributes to our success.

Cristian Tabără: You have indeed started with the very present. This is exactly what you have been doing before being appointed the ambassador to the United States of America. What was before that? There should be some professional background; we need to see what brought you into politics.

Cristina Balan: Yes, I came into politics step by step. I have probably never seen myself as a politician. I studied here in Chisinau, and I am an economist, specialized in management. I became a manager when I turned 25, running a team of 60 people. I worked in various areas, mostly in large multinational companies, usually in their top management. Among these companies is, for example, Voxtel, which was the first international company in the Republic of Moldova. Later I went to work for PWC, which is again a top company. I have also lead a USAID funded program, that is why I know very well how Americans work. I have also brought in international companies, and even opened their representative offices here. I worked with investors from Germany, Romania and US. I have even opened a representative office of an American company in Moldova.

Cristian Tabără: Economist, manager, this means that one way or another you could say that you are a technocrat. This term is being used quite often nowadays.

Cristina Balan: Definitely, yes. Absolutely, and I hope to stay so.

Cristian Tabără: All right. Technocrats are not very romantic. They look at various figures, indicators, balance sheets, clear things. Does that characterize you?

Cristina Balan: Precisely. Some people probably enjoy the process of doing things. I enjoy seeing the results of my work.

Cristian Tabără: Correct me if I am wrong, but there is this concept of result-oriented. You want to see what you have at the end of the day. Cristina Balan must like what is under the bottom line, if we may put it so.

Cristina Balan: Precisely.

Cristian Tabără: I see. All right. I believe people would like to now more. Moreover, you have promised that. Let us talk about your family, your husband, you children. If you agree. Let people also see you from this angle.

Cristina Balan: Yes, certainly. I am an accomplished woman. I have two children who I enjoy every day. I have a husband who supports me and who is, as he himself puts it, my no one fan. He is my fan and I do not know what I would have done without him. I wouldn’t have been here today, had my husband not been there for me.

Cristian Tabără: Now, I would like to make a small side comment. I know Radu Balan very well. He is indeed a remarkable individual. I think that in this sense they happily complete each other, one way or another. It has often been said that behind every strong man there is a strong woman. Well, behind this strong and successful woman there is a man, who himself is a great professional. Those who know Radu Balan know very well what I am talking about.

Cristina Balan: I would like to correct what have just said, please. He is not behind me. He is by my side.

Cristian Tabără: Wonderful. And this was not political correctness. I confirm. I just tried to play with some standard expressions. Cristina said precisely what had to be said. They are by each other’s side. They are very different, by the way, but together.

Cristina Balan: Yes, we complete each other.

Cristian Tabără: All right. This was about your family now. Let us go back in time. What family were you born and raised into? We know very well that the childhood matters and marks you. Where were you educated?

Cristina Balan: It certainly does mark you. My parents are both engineers, mathematicians. They educated me. They allowed me to develop the way I wanted and opened up various opportunities for me. There were not too many at that time, though. I remember my mother tell me that when I was five there was one single group in the kindergarten where English was studied, and you had to pay for it, quite a lot. They were young, they had their costs, but mother insisted to pay for these lessons and give me a chance to learn English. May be it wasn’t a big thing at that time, but later it helped me immensely as I am now fluent in English. I speak just as well as I speak Romanian and Russian. It helped me a lot in my professional development. I studied in English. I had access to English-speaking professors and English-language textbooks. It used to be quite difficult to find books on marketing, management and other new subjects at the time when I studied. English also helped me develop professionally, as it is very important when you work in an international company and all communication and correspondence is in this language.

Cristian Tabără: So, ultimately it turned out to be a good investment. Your parents have seen something in perspective. Have you ever imagined that you will become an ambassador in USA?

Cristina Balan: You know, I was laughing recently. Joking with my mother. Laughing together. You - an ambassador? What are we going to do? It was so unexpected. And I said: “Mom, remember, when I was very small you were telling me the biography of the Kennedy family. Remember, you were telling me different things, teaching me how to behave and telling me: You will be among ambassadors. This was something she could not imagine. She was saying that I should be educated, refined, reserved, that I should know everything - history, literature. This is the way she and my father, of course, have educated me. And I say: You were the one who instilled all these things in me. Now you see the result. It is not me. After all, it is you who did it.

Cristian Tabără: That was, in a way, programming you, if we may put it so. Now, let us change the tonality of our discussion, if we may. After all, you are not a career diplomat.

Cristina Balan: Yes.

Cristian Tabără: You are not what is called a product of diplomacy school.

Cristina Balan: Yes.

Cristian Tabără: Thus, I must ask: Why was Cristina Balan chosen, and not a career diplomat? It is important. Then I will go to other matters, which are a bit sensitive and quite intriguing for some. However, this should come first. Why you? Why not a career diplomat?

Cristina Balan: Yes. The appointment into this position was based on political support and it is an absolutely frequent experience and practice - politicians or experts supported by political class appointed in key positions.  In the US, there is the concept of “political appointees”. These are people appointed based on political support. Even in the State Department, when new administration comes in, people in key positions are political appointees. Even in the US, in Washington, if I am not mistaken, there are many ambassadors of other countries, who are political appointees. For example, ambassador of Romania. It is an absolutely normal practice.

Cristian Tabără: Indeed, in case of Romania there is an additional sensitive note, as their current ambassador in the US is a former director of Romanian Intelligence Service. That’s the way things are.

Cristina Balan: I have nothing to do with intelligence services.

Cristian Tabără: All right, but on the other hand you have things to do with PDM.

Cristina Balan: Yes, and if you allow me, I would like to add a few things here.

Cristian Tabără: Please do!

Cristina Balan: Why is it more important for Americans to have a political appointee there? Indeed, an ambassador or a career diplomat would do well in this position. Nobody doubts that. However, it is important for Americans to have an interlocutor who has direct access to country’s leadership.

That is, if there were a sensitive message to be sent, it would reach the key persons in the state within 24 hours:  Prime minister, ministers, speaker of the parliament, governing party’s leadership. In this case, decisions are made very quickly. I believe it is beneficial for everyone.

Cristian Tabără: So it is. What would you eventually say to those who could think that this is a new attempt of PDM to get all areas under control? Why am I asking? Because maybe few people are aware of this, and we should tell them that be it the US, be it another country, before the Republic of Moldova, for example, appoints an ambassador somewhere, there are preliminary discussions with the host state, an agreement is sought, and only after receiving it the internal procedure for ambassador’s appointment begin.  This is normal and there are no hidden games. It is just the way things are done in this case. How was it in your case?

Cristina Balan: Yes, we followed the same standard procedure. First, there were discussions in PDM, then in coalition, and an agreement about my candidature was reached. I must tell you that there was no great wish to allow me to leave and ways were sought to keep me here, as there are important processes here, in the Republic of Moldova, which I run and coordinate. Ultimately, there was an understanding that it is I who has to go.

After that, my candidature was proposed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they, in their turn, have sent my CV, biography, with a cover letter, to the State Department. The State Department gave its opinion, and there were numerous agencies that also gave their opinion. I must tell you that I have received my agreement relatively quickly, within six weeks. I have received the news within six weeks.

Cristian Tabără: Six weeks?

Cristina Balan: Yes.

Cristian Tabără: Not six months?

Cristina Balan: No. Normally, it takes a while. Could even be three months. However, I have received mine quite quickly.

Cristian Tabără: Does this mean that there was no scandal in Washington, no one got appalled? No one said: “Oh, no, again PDM is sending someone!”

Cristina Balan: Americans are very pragmatic. They understand, they see the essence of things.

Cristian Tabără: On the other hand, they were not scared at all when a female candidate was proposed, and I am getting back to this first time ever in Eastern Partnership and in Moldova, when a female ambassador will represent the country in the United States. How did they see it?

Cristina Balan: In the United States, women are equal. There is absolutely no difference between women and men. Moreover, they know me already, because it is not the first time when I am coming to the United States. I think my first visit took place 15 years ago. I went to Washington DC, when I was working in a USAID-funded program and I was invited to represent the Republic of Moldova in an International Conference, which I did quite well. After that, I came to the US several times more; I have a lot of friends there, as well as collaborations. I have previously interacted with the State Department. I have even been in Congress and spoke to congressional representatives and their staff. I have been in the White House as well. Practically, people do know me. I was not an obscure individual for them.

Cristian Tabără: So, your contact with the American dream, to put it this way, started 15 years ago, when you were not related to PDM?

Cristina Balan: I was not related to PDM. That is right.

Cristian Tabără: And there was no political connotation. USAID does not get involved in politics in general.

Cristina Balan: No, it does not. Even the USAID policy clearly states that you are not allowed to take part in political activities, to be involved in politics.

Cristian Tabără: I see. All right. On the other hand, I must ask again. Ok, you do not have diplomatic experience. You have a very clear mandate, accepted by both sides. What will your diplomatic program, your diplomatic method be like? What will you do? How are you going to implement your mandate?

Cristina Balan: Firstly, there are many things going on in the United States. They have much greater concerns than the Republic of Moldova. It is very important to get the Republic of Moldova on the agenda of the American Congress and American administration. We must be very active there. We must talk about our accomplishments, about our aspirations, as well as about the problems that we are facing.

These are first things. We need to draw attention and get the Republic of Moldova on the radar. Generally, the US are key for Moldova, as it is a strategic partnership, not just an economic one. They are a strategic partner in all areas and can help us ensure stability in our country, promote pro-European, democratic values, and continue pursuing the pro-European path of our country.

Cristian Tabără: On the other hand, considering the recent positioning of Moldovan foreign policy through Tudor Ulianovschi and before, through the acts of the Parliament, Moldova wishes to stay on the European path, but geographically is some sort of a bridge between East and West, which makes your mandate even more complicated as some tend to place Washington and Moscow face to face, Chisinau being somewhere in between.

Cristina Balan: PDM is a balanced party and we do believe that we need to find common ground with key states, both with the United States and Russia. There are many opportunities in China and they showed openness to us. We are small and we must be friends with everyone.

Cristian Tabără: It will be interesting. To put it the Anglo-Saxon way: „I, myself, will keep an eye on you”. I indeed want to see how you are going to do such diplomacy, which will definitely not be simple, considering geopolitical positioning of the United States, for example, in relation to China and Russian Federation, the countries that you have mentioned, with regard to which Moldova must also take a position. Very complicated. In fact, I would like to ask a further question. Who is going to set your targets and who is going to assess you?

Cristina Balan: The first filter will be myself, as I am a perfectionist and very demanding, not just with regard to the team that I am working with, but also with regard to myself. Sometimes, the ideas that I propose do not seem to be accomplishable. However, later we turn out successful. I am quite convinced that we shall be successful. There are, of course, plenty of factors that can delay us, but I do hope that things will turn out well and we will have beautiful accomplishments. Not just myself, but also the whole team, as this not just my story. I certainly would not have accomplished anything without the support of the party leadership and of a team of hard working ants, who work very hard and are very dedicated.

Cristian Tabără: You will have a boss, Tudor Ulianovschi.

Cristina Balan: Yes, certainly. The institutional filter. Of course, I will establish and coordinate objectives with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, there will certainly be evaluation criteria. Besides, I will be politically assessed by PDM and the governing coalition in general. They will evaluate how well I represent the interests of our citizens in the United States.

Cristian Tabără: Slowly, but steadily, we have reached the subject of citizens’ interests. We must admit that there is a quite widespread perception, in not only the Republic of Moldova, that for many diplomats the mission is nothing else but also a sinecure, a nice place...

Cristina Balan: A vacation!

Cristian Tabără: Yes, a vacation. They either take care of their own interests, or travel and spend public money, or just have fun with other ambassadors somewhere where things are nice and simple. In addition, people are asking themselves: All right, what is there for us in this? We, the simple people, what do we get because of the fact that Cristina Balan will go to Washington? 

Cristina Balan: Yes, I will take all effort to make sure that my activity in the United States brings specific results, and you are right that any simple citizen seeing that a politician or an official is going abroad think what is there for me. There is such a saying.

I will never forget this. I also support that any politician and any public official must forget about own interests and even some personal sympathies and act for the benefit of people represented. It is important to act in favour of the country and in in the best interest of the country, bring in something for the country and for your people.

Cristian Tabără: Ok, that is at the level of a general statement. It should somehow turn into simple, clear, tangible facts. You must be thinking of something specific for a social category in Moldova, for whom at a certain point you will be able to say: “These people will benefit from this, because I thought that ... And managed to get this and that.”

Cristina Balan: Yes, first, if we are talking about priorities, the support of the United States is important for us to ensure democracy, territorial integrity and a clear path towards the West for our country. This is our top priority. I am an economist and I understand very well how important economy is, as well as consolidation and development of our countries. The US provides multiple opportunities for development and would really like to bring in investments, create jobs here in Moldova, to build a Moldovan dream. Not American, Moldovan dream. Another priority for me, regardless of where I am working, is development of young people, of the new generation. At any discussion and in any meeting I will try to identify opportunities for young people of Moldova to the US for training and studies, because we do need experts who believe in a Western future and who could continue reforms that we have initiated.

Cristian Tabără: All right, but others may ask: “Why should American care about Moldova”. We know that there is a friendship group, represented by two gentlemen, a Republican and a Democrat, who are not indifferent, who showed interest. Could you please talk a bit more about the reasons why Americans would pay to Moldova the kind of attention it wants. You said in the beginning that your wish is to get the attention of people there with Moldova. We should indeed remind that the US are giant, the greatest power presently. Their interest is major. Moldova is just a small point on the map. It would be an accomplishment to get the heavyweights from there pay attention to Moldova, but certainly not an easy one. How do the US view Moldova now, for example?

Cristina Balan: I must tell you that we already have Moldova on the radar. Therefore, I am not starting from scratch. Indeed, there is a friendship group and I think it is also our merit, the merit of the Democratic Party, which we have managed to convince a co-chair from the Republicans to co-chair the friendship group, or as they call it, caucus. There are friendship groups in the Congress, just like in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Firstly, the Americans are not indifferent by definition. When you tell them about your aspirations, about your beliefs, your concerns they are not indifferent. I used to tell them often about the kind of life we had in Soviet times and what difficulties we had when the transition period started, which kind of has not ended yet, you know. You tell them about the hardships you had, about the fact, there was nothing, not even food, and it was so difficult to find a job, when you tell them about the present problems, they honestly want to help you. That is at personal level. Politically, the US are certainly interested in our region. We are a small country in a rather complex geopolitical context and I believe this helps us get Moldova on the radar. There are particular moves in Ukraine and in the neighbouring country, which is why it is not difficult to speak about it.

Cristian Tabără: On the other hand, it is also not simple, as the foreign policy of Moldova does not always talk in a single voice. Sometimes we hear the voice of the Presidency, for example, which is more oriented towards the east. No one says that we should not keep the relations with Russian Federation, but the voice of Presidency is sometimes quite vehement and acid when it talks about the EU or the US. How will ambassador Cristina Balan manage to sweeten things up a little and explain to people that yes, the voices are not always united, but the intentions can be the same, say

Cristina Balan: They are very well aware of the situation in the Republic of Moldova. They understand the substrata, they understand the context. It is not that important for them and in other countries there is also probably opposition and various voices. China might be speaking unanimously, but we know why that is.  In democratic countries, it is ok to have various opinions, a pluralism of opinions. Anyone is free to say anything.

Cristian Tabără: Even the president of the country can have a discourse that differs from the one of the prime minister?

Cristina Balan: Certainly, because the president is elected by people and is entitled to an opinion by virtue of representing a part of citizens of Moldova.

Cristian Tabără: I am now making a comment and not asking Cristina Balan for one, because she is an ambassador already, but I would be very curious to see the ambassador according to the protocol must accompany the first official visit of the President of the Republic of Moldova to the US, as the president. I will be very curious to see that visit.

Cristina Balan: Mr President will request an official visit and we shall certainly provide support.

Cristian Tabără: That is on a side. We are getting to the end of this program and I must ask a direct and blunt question again. Cristina Balan will represent the Republic of Moldova in the most important power in the world at this point, the United States of America.

I would like to ask you. Are you fully aware? Are you fully aware of the burden of responsibility on your shoulders? Because anything, any small mistake there may bring in huge costs for you. An ambassador in another country which has a different positioning in the world compared to the US may afford mistakes. For you mistakes are not an option.

Cristina Balan: You probably want me to run away now. You are pressing me.

Cristian Tabără: I am trying to scare you. Aren’t you scared?

Cristina Balan: No, I am not. First, I have vast experience in my activity. I know precisely what I must do. I know precisely what to coordinate and how to coordinate. I know precisely how to organize my team to accomplish set objectives. The only one who does not make mistakes is the one who does nothing. It is ok to have lessons learned. The important thing is not to make severe mistakes, but I already know how things work in the US and I know the context and foreign policy of Moldova. I do not think I am going to make mistakes. I am quite convinced about it.

Cristian Tabără: I am glad. It is indeed the end of the program. I thank you very much again. We have been trying to have this dialog for quite a while. Now we are having it on this occasion and I repeat what I said from the very beginning: it is a triple first ever.

A first ever program like this. A first ever female ambassador to the US from an Eastern Partnership country. And a third time ever is the fact that Cristina Balan decided to get the immense burden of this mandate on her shoulders. I can only hope that on a future occasion, when you are in Chisinau, you will accept another dialog and we will see how you perceive the job of being an ambassador then. Thank you very much!

Cristina Balan: I will come with pleasure. I thank you for this discussion as well. It was a pleasure.

Cristian Tabără: It was a pleasure for me too and I wish you success! 

PUBLIKA.md recalls that Cristina Balan is Moldova’s recently appointed ambassador-designate to the United States and the first female ambassador from the Eastern Partnership countries in Washington. Cristina Balan was the deputy president of the Democratic Party and held the title of the Best woman in politics of 2017.