But Munteanu’s tenure as the country’s head of government was marred by scandals that have rocked Moldova’s government ministries and agencies.
Last month Dumitru Vangeli, head of aviation security agency MOLDATSA, was sacked after his university diploma and pilot’s license were found to be invalid. to forge. On Thursday the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Tatiana Nistorică was detention for allegations of corruption.
Vangeli in public rejected charges, while Nistorică has not yet commented on his case.
In a press conference following Munteanu’s resignation, Sandu said he expected “more involvement in difficult decisions, a stronger public presence to listen to people’s concerns.” He also defied Munteanu’s statement, implying that he was not free to deal with the challenges facing the country.
“The rumor that he wanted to deal with violence but was not allowed to do so is false,” he said. “The Prime Minister had the freedom to run the government as he saw fit.”
The president also said he will hold consultations with party leaders next week in order to name the country’s next prime minister, who he said will also focus on pro-European policies. “Moldova’s path has not changed yet: reform and joining the EU,” he he wrote on X.
Moldova was accepted as a candidate to join the European Union in 2022, and last month the member states of the union voted to support the opening of the first pillar of the accession negotiations with Chișinău. Sandu has become the most visible face of the pro-EU movement, and leads the political opposition to the pro-Russian Socialist Party, currently the country’s second-largest party.
