President of parliamentary faction of Democratic Party (PDM) Pavel Filip has discussed post-electoral situation in the Republic of Moldova within an interview with Tribuna. 

Mr. Filip, how do you see current political situation? May we say that the Republic of Moldova is in a post-election deadlock?

I believe that current discussions and positioning on the political stage are somehow natural. Except, of course, their useless protraction, which may cost the country. We had elections a month and a half ago. Now political forces propose options and look for solutions to ensure government of the country. I do not discuss good faith of some of the parties, as it was clear from their behaviour what their concerns were.

The new Parliament convened and now we are in the 3-months period when a new Government may be formed. Meanwhile, the old Government acts with limited functions, according to the law. We wish that a new, fully functional, Government is formed as soon as possible, to implement particularly the social package that DPM spoke about. I believe that things will sort out in the following period, provided there is more good will of the parties.

Coming to the political positioning, how do you see the public proposals of parliamentary parties? Is there already a basis to create a coalition?

From the point of view of the Democratic Party, a coalition must be created starting from people's needs, not from positions of parties or functions in the state. The parties must say it clearly: here is what we want to do for our citizens. From this point on, we analyse proposals, programs, see what the common points and differences are, and work on alignment.

The best possible coalition is a coalition that will solve people's problems, without scandals, without vanity and without hidden agenda. It is important to find common points for the benefit of people and to freeze the ones that can generate differences. This is the way we see the formation of a coalition, which is a means to fulfill the promises we made to the citizens.  Regardless of our political preferences - by the way, DPM announced them - we want to create a coalition that will bring the best possible results for people.  This means a coalition that will be able to implement our electoral proposals, including the social measures, which we have summarized in the Social Package for Moldova a few days ago. We, thus, want a coalition interested in solving social problems and capable to function well.

Still, how would you comment the delay in setting up a coalition?

The delay and the refusal to negotiate a coalition are against the interests of the country and of its citizens. These happen on the account of quality of people's lives and of the country's economy.

There were some steps taken, however, as you have seen, and some signals are encouraging. I believe that to progress in terms of building a coalition we must look more at the citizens and problems of the country.

What does not help at all is the refusal to talk, to negotiate. One can hold on to NOs in election campaigns, but one cannot govern this way. The first condition to build a government coalition is to talk. I repeat, those who refuse political dialogue are against the citizens of Moldova. To put it even more directly, those who promote "the dialogue of the deaf" for hidden interests cause severe damage to the interests of citizens of the Republic of Moldova. I do believe, though, that there are solutions and they must be implemented.

Mr. Filip, what if the refuses persist or if the dialogue gives no results? Do you exclude early elections? After all, this may also be a way out of the deadlock.

Early elections are possible, but not desirable. PDM, categorically, will not provoke snap elections. Why should we go back to campaigning and elections? You need campaigns to say what you did for people, to learn from them what you could do more, and to prove that you are trustworthy. We have already done that. It is not logical to waste time and restart the whole process.

Democratic Party was and is against snap elections, because such a scenario is bad for Moldova. It is bad for the economy. It is bad for social projects. It is bad for stability of the country in general. Early elections will do nothing but delay adoption of social measures demanded and expected by the society. They would discourage business environment and create uncertainty in all areas.

I would like to make it very clear, however: DPM is ready for any variant. In case of early elections, I am sure that we will win even more mandates, because we will tell people very clearly: support those who want to do something for the country, not the ones who only want chaos and instability.

It may still be that some parties simply do not want to negotiate or have their own conditions, which they will not drop. It remains for the citizens to judge whether it is a good or a bad thing, doesn't it?

The refusal to negotiate and build a coalition shows a fear to assume responsibilities and lack of confidence in own capacity to govern. It also does mean something else: people are disappointed in their expectations. People did their duty and voted. Now it is time for the parties to do their duty. Parties are meant to solve country's problems, not to create other problems, and people punish them for such destructive behavior.

I still hope that there will be mature and responsible political forces, which will commit to build a coalition and will assume the task of government. Citizens of the country deserve to have a government as soon as possible, and they will have it. 

How do you see more specifically the establishment of this government? What should this new government do for the country from DPM's point of view?

As I said, people's interests must come first, in particular in social and economic sphere. We are coming after three years of beautiful economic growth, achieved under conditions of stability. This economic growth can continue and it must continue, but we must continue social measures in parallel.

DPM has the experience of the last three years and knows what needs to be done to grow the economy further. If the economy grows, the salaries will go up, as well as budget revenues, which will create conditions for increasing social benefits. Among other, I mean here the increase of the single-time benefit paid when a child is born, increase of pensions and compensations for payment of heating, introduction of state allowances for children. Also, if budget revenues go up, we will be able to expand various public investments - into road infrastructure, water supply, renovation of schools and kindergartens etc. The First Home Programs may also be expanded to assist more young people in buying a home.

Moldova can further pursue the good track that it entered in 2016, but this depends on how responsible the political class will be. The mission of the political class is to help, not to interfere. I would like all politicians and members of the Parliament to think about this. Vanity, arrogance and refusals are first a cost to the citizens and to Moldova, and only then to the politicians.

Democratic Party, thus, proposed a number of government priorities, also based on the new opinion poll, which helped us test up-to-date people's wishes. We are open to harmonize them with the priorities of other parties. If we agree at this point, on programs, then the discussions may continue to assuming nominal responsibilities in the act of government. We will further make invitations to dialog and will accept invitations to dialog, aiming to discuss specific things. I am confident that we will quickly advance in terms of building a coalition and a government program.

Moreover, if early elections were to happen, they must be organized in accordance with what citizens voted for in the consultative referendum on February 24, which means 61 members of the Parliament must be elected, not 101. I remind you that at the referendum about two thirds of the voters were in favor of reducing the number of members of the Parliament.