NON-COMMUNIST COALITION MOVING FORWARD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000634 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/UMB E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2019 TAGS: PGOV KDEM EAID MD SUBJECT: NON-COMMUNIST COALITION MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS FOR NEW GOVERNMENT Classified by: Ambassador Asif J. Chaudhry for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Since the public announcement August 8 of the formation of the four-party non- Communist coalition, the group's leaders have been focusing their efforts on putting together a new government. They have agreed to nominate Filat for Speaker, Lupu for President and to let the Liberal party nominate the Prime Minister. The group has appointed a committee with representatives from each party to make recommendations about candidates for ministerial positions. The coalition leaders are considering options for governmental restructuring and, in particular, are looking at what to do about the reportedly corruption-plagued Center for Combating Economic Crime and Corruption. The Ambassador suggested that the Embassy would try to bring the USG specialist who had worked on reforming this structure under the MCC Threshold program back to Chisinau for expert consultations on this issue. End Summary. Coalition Putting Together its Government -------------- ¶2. (C) In an August 10 meeting, Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) leader Vlad Filat told the Ambassador that things are going well for the newly-formed coalition. The four parties had agreed to nominate Filat for Speaker, Marian Lupu for President and to let the Liberal Party make the choice of candidate for Prime Minister. The Liberal Party was reportedly considering putting forth the name of Grigorie Belostechnic, Director of the Moldovan Academy for Economic Studies (ASEM),for this slot. ¶3. (C) According to Filat, the group was now looking at the larger list of positions to be filled, and had begun developing policy papers. The coalition had formed a larger group with 4-5 representatives from each party to discuss concrete steps and names to propose. ¶4. (C) Filat said that he wanted to have the posts of Minister of Finance, Foreign Minister, and the Deputy Prime Minister that supervises the power ministries (currently Iurie Rosca) for his own party. Though the group had not discussed these positions yet, Filat anticipated the possibility of a disagreement with Lupu, who might seek to have the Foreign Minister position for former Ambassador to Germany Igor Korman, while Filat hoped to have that spot for his own deputy, Iurie Leanca. Filat indicated that the coalition could consider keeping certain individuals from the previous government, such as Finance Minister Mariana Durlesteanu, who is not a member of any political party. What to do About Center for Combating Economic Crime? -------------- -------------- -- ¶5. (C) Filat confided that the coalition had been discussing what to do about the Center for Combating Economic Crime and Corruption (CCECC), which itself was widely alleged to be corrupt. Filat said that his own instinct was to eliminate it, though the other option would be a complete overhaul. The Ambassador told Filat that under the MCC Threshold Program, Embassy had personnel here working, inter alia, on the question of reforming the CCECC. Filat expressed interest in meeting with the American expert who had led this program. Though the program has ended and that expert has left the country, the Ambassador promised to see if it would be possible to bring him back to Chisinau for consultations. ¶6. (C) Filat repeated a line he had used in press statements that those who committed crimes needed to pay for their actions. While acknowledging that it was probably not good press for the coalition to make such threats, he said that he was specifically referring to Minister of Interior Georgiy Papuc. Filat said the deaths of CHISINAU 00000634 002 OF 002 three youths following the April 7 violence continued to torment him, and he said he blamed Papuc for letting this happen. Filat to Seek Meeting with Voronin -------------- ¶7. (C) Filat said that he would try to meet with Voronin after the President returned August 15 from his one-week vacation in Turkey. Filat said he planned to meet on his own with Voronin, as "Ghimpu would not be helpful," and Lupu "could be an irritant." Filat planned to talk openly with Voronin, telling him that he has no choice but to relinquish power, and offering him guarantees. Such guarantees would not be made for all members of the previous GOM, but Filat said Voronin could be assured he would not be prosecuted. When the Ambassador asked about Voronin's son, Oleg (a very wealthy businessman),Filat responded that while there was no question Oleg had owned certain businesses before his father came to power, it was clear that Oleg had snatched away other businesses which, Filat said, should be restored to their rightful owners. Filat said he had a list of specific names of such businesses that Oleg Voronin had taken over. Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) The four-party Coalition is showing signs of political maturity in moving beyond personal competition for top posts and on to discussing options for creating a team that could actually run the government. In addition they have begun drafting position papers and analyzing their options, and are acting like a transition team thinking realistically about the tasks ahead. However, it is important to note that the coalition does not yet have the 61-vote presidency in hand. The drama of electing a president and then forming a government will not play out until September, after the Parliament's initial session convenes in late August. CHAUDHRY