Today @ 08:56 CET
Tense negotiations are taking place between Moldova's political parties following the inconclusive general election several weeks ago. None of the bitterly opposed groups won the 61 seats necessary to nominate the next president.Three parties from the governing Alliance for European Integration won 57 seats, while the opposition Communists won 44 out of the total 101 seats in the parliament.
Last Friday (16 December), Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat took part in the Brussels summit of the European People's Party (EPP), the main political group in European Parliament.
Mr Filat's Liberal Democratic Party (the main party in the governing pro-western alliance), which increased its seats from 18 to 31, and the Communist Party, which won the most votes, are both vying for top posts.
But some observers have not ruled out the possibility of a last minute alliance between Marian Lupu's Democratic Party and the pro-Moscow Communist party of the former president Vladimir Voronin.
WAZ.EUobserver spoke to Mr Filat about his negotiations in Brussels and the potential for an alliance in Moldova.
WAZ.EUobserver: Not having formed a government yet, you came to Brussels in a enfeebled position. It is still unclear what direction the negotiations will take. What message do you bring to Brussels, given that you are not speaking from a position of strength?
Vlad Filat: First of all, we are not enfeebled. I would say that the elections greatly enhanced our strength. And, of course, we are deeply involved in political negotiations with the other parties, in order to be able to govern Moldova for the next four years.
WAZ.EUobserver: In order to form an alliance, trust is needed. What trust can you have in someone like the chief of your coalition partner Marian Lupu, the leader of the Democratic Party, who in September, when you were in Brussels, flew to Moscow without informing you and the other coalition partners and signed an agreement with Russia's ruling party?
VF: This wouldn't be our biggest problem. You see, each party in the coalition can decide on its own course and attitude. Don't let me slip towards political analyses. I will not give marks to one or another Moldovan politicians. I hope to have a government by the end of the year.
WAZ.EUobserver: What made your party go over to the EPP, given that you are a rather liberal-oriented party?
VF: Well, we followed the same way as the Romanian ruling Liberal Democrat Party, which also became a member of the EPP. We feel ourselves to be conservatives, we have a conservative doctrine, and 'liberal' for us means defending the basic liberties of the citizens.
