Parliament Approves New Government - Lupu Quits Communist

UNCLAS CHISINAU 000450

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SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM MD
SUBJECT: Parliament Approves New Government - Lupu Quits Communist
Party

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please Protect Accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: At its June 10 session, the Parliament approved
Prime Minister Zinaida Grecanii's list for interim cabinet. The new
cabinet is almost the same as the previous one. Ex-Speaker Marian
Lupu announced his departure from the Party of Communists (PCRM),
which has the potential to weaken that party in the coming electoral
round. Lupu is negotiating with smaller centrist parties that did
not receive sufficient votes to gain seats in the current
parliament, and has not yet announced his plans. Deputies discussed
amendments to electoral procedures to resolve a legal contradiction
between the mandated 45-day period to hold elections after the
dissolution of Parliament and the required 60-day period for an
electoral campaign. Members of Parliament also reviewed amendments
to the regulations on severance pay upon termination of a
Parliament. The Parliament will consider these bills in committee
and vote when it reconvenes on June 12. It is not clear yet whether
Voronin will disband the Parliament at that time. End summary.

Interim Government Approved
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2. (SBU) At the June 10 session of Parliament, Prime Minister
Greceanii presented her cabinet and her government's proposed work
program, as required by law. Her cabinet was roughly identical to
the previous one, with only three changes. Valentin Mejinschi was
dropped as Deputy Prime Minister; Ioacob Timciuc replaced Valentin
Guznac as Minister of Local Public Administration; and Mihai
Barbulat assumed the vacant seat of Minister of Culture. Greceanii
presented the seven priorities of her new government, including
integration into the EU, settlement of the Transnistria dispute and
managing the economic crisis. Following a tough 30-minute session
of questions from opposition deputies, her cabinet was approved.

Lupu Withdraws from Party of Communists
--------------


3. (SBU) After hints in the press a week ago, former Parliamentary
Speaker Marian Lupu formally announced that he was leaving the PCRM
and its parliamentary faction. In a closed meeting of the PCRM and
a press conference before the parliamentary session opened, Lupu
cited the PCRM's rigidity and the failure to launch a genuine
dialogue among the reasons for his departure. His prepared
statement was also critical of the opposition parties, stating that
the positions of all parliamentary forces had become rigid and
dangerous. He said that he would not participate in a campaign with
messages of accusations and threats, and would not join either
radical side. Lupu is now negotiating with smaller centrist parties
to find a base from which to run. The assumption is that Lupu could
be a unifying force for a group of smaller parties that would occupy
a centrist position between the PCRM and opposition.

Legal Issues for the Parliament to Resolve
--------------


4. (SBU) The current political crisis is unprecedented. Presidents
before Voronin were elected by direct popular vote, and it was only
in 2001 that the parliamentary system was introduced. The current
situation thus poses some legal contradictions and has exposed some
gaps in the law. One such contradiction is the discrepancy between
the constitutional requirement to hold repeat parliamentary
elections within 45 days of the decree dissolving parliament and the
electoral law requirement that the electoral campaign period be for
60 days. At the June 10 session, deputies discussed draft proposals
for amending the law, and agreed to take this up in committee and
vote when the Parliament reconvenes on June 12.


5. (SBU) A similar sticky issue arose from the regulations that
provide for six months of benefits for members of Parliament in an
outgoing Parliament. The law did not specify what should happen in
the case of an early disbandment of Parliament. Deputies determined
that a Parliament which disbands at the end of its term will get
three months of severance, while in the case of an early dissolution
of Parliament the deputies will receive no such benefits.

Comment
--------------


6. (SBU) With Prime Minister Greceanii's cabinet confirmed, the GOM
can formally function as a government until the next round of
elections. Lupu's departure from the PCRM has shifted the
pre-electoral political picture in Moldova. It has the potential to
do some electoral damage to the Communists, and might shift the
bipolar axis of confrontation in the parliament by introducing a
third, centrist force. It remains to be seen what party Lupu will
align with, and whether he will be successful in pulling together
several leaders of smaller parties such as Dumitru Diacov, Dumitru
Braghis, and Vasile Tarlev into a larger centrist coalition.


Chaudhry