Tofan government programme challenged in parliament
During parliamentary debates, Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) chair Diana Karamanquestioned prime minister-designate Vasile Tofan and accused him of giving answers that did not correspond with the situation in the country. She argued that the Tofan government programme was filled with slogans similar to those in the previous three government programmes, which she blamed for economic decline and the impoverishment of the population.
Karaman also highlighted Tofan’s lack of experience in public administration, although she said this had not prevented him from becoming a sponsor and MP for the governing PAS party.
“You have no experience of governing a country, and this problem is clearly reflected in your relations with Parliament, institutions and MPs. I understand that you will probably remain a sponsor of PAS and a PAS deputy,” Karaman said.
She also disputed Tofan’s description of the cabinet as a “new team”, pointing out that he had not brought any new figures into the government. In her view, the same officials remained responsible for policies that had undermined public confidence in the country’s administration.
“I do not see a single person in your team whom you brought in. You are working with the same team which, by your own admission, has created a situation in which society has no confidence in the process of governing the country,” she claimed. “You are not giving an honest answer about who is responsible for the country’s problems or how those problems should be resolved.”
Tofan cites roads, EU integration and justice reform
When the PCRM leader said Moldova’s decline was the result of PAS rule, Tofan rejected her assessment and claimed that the country had achieved unprecedented successes. As examples, he referred to roads which he said were better than five years ago, an “unimaginable leap” in European integration and the cleansing of the justice system, from which he said “all kinds of scoundrels” were being removed.
Karaman responded by challenging the government’s record and listing scandals and failures which she said contradicted Tofan’s claims. She referred to allegations of political pressure on the justice system, corruption, arms and drug smuggling, fraud against citizens and deaths in the army.
“What successes has PAS achieved in five years? The prosecutor whom the authorities brought from America says that pressure on the justice system from all state institutions is so intense that it is difficult to describe in words,” Karaman said. “Moreover, you say that PAS’s successes are obvious. Where are they? In corruption, arms trafficking, drug trafficking or the fraudsters who are now robbing our citizens? Are these the ‘successes’ we are talking about?”
She also referred to nine deaths in the army and criticised Tofan for retaining the responsible minister in his proposed cabinet.
“Is this a new government of bold decisions? No, Mr Tofan,” Karaman concluded.
Communists reject claims of a new political course
The confrontation reflected the communists’ broader rejection of the Tofan government programme and its presentation as a break with previous cabinets. Karaman argued that keeping the same team made it impossible to claim that the government represented a genuinely new political direction.
The article argues that there are politicians in Moldova who are genuinely concerned about the welfare of Moldovans and the future of a sovereign state, but that they are not members of PAS. It presents Karaman as one of those figures and claims the governing elite would never willingly allow such politicians to exercise real power.
According to this assessment, the parliamentary exchange demonstrated that the authorities struggle even when confronted in debate. It concludes by questioning how they would perform if political opponents were given genuinely equal conditions beyond the parliamentary chamber.
