Prime Minister Recean Names 3 New Ministers, Public Reaction Mixed
Quick Hit July 18, 2023
In this Quick Hit article we will be covering the appointment by Prime Minister Recean of 3 new ministers. These appointments complete his surprise cabinet reshuffle that we wrote about in last week’s roundup.
Cabinet Reshuffle - 3 New Ministers Named
On Monday Prime Minster Recean named replacements for the 3 ministers that abruptly resigned last Friday. They are:
Andrei Spinu as Minister of Infrastructure - Minister Spinu formerly served as Minister of Infrastructure and Deputy Prime Minister under Prime Minister Gavrilita. He was replaced 6 months ago when Prime Minister Recean was appointed and has since been an advisor to President Sandu.
Dan Perciun as Minister of Education - Minister Perciun was a Member of Parliament before his appointment leading the parliamentary committee on social protection.
Adrian Efros as Minister of Internal Affairs - Colonel Efros served as head of logistics for the General Staff of the National Army until his appointment.
As we discussed in the Weekly Roundup, rumors and leaks had established both Dan Perciun and Andrei Spinu as likely candidates for their respective ministries. The appointment of Adrian Efros however was a surprise as his name had not been previously discussed. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Colonel Efros was appointed as the leader of the “Single Crisis Management Center” that coordinated the government’s response to the evolving refugee crisis. His work there was praised as highly competent in coordinating the response to a national crisis. Previously, Adrian Efros had a long career in the army where he specialized in leading teams of sappers responsible for clearing explosive ordinance. He led a Moldovan team of peacekeepers in Mosul Iraq in 2008 where they were responsible for disarming explosive ordinance. Later in 2016 he led Moldova’s Peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo. Last May Minister Efros made his first real appearance in a political setting speaking from the stage at the Grand National Assembly where he said (in part):
“I came to this national meeting with my family because I see the future of my children in a society with European values. Today we choose our future and the future of our children. We are the masters of destiny. I took a military oath to defend my country even at the cost of my own life. For me, these are not just words, this is a goal to which I will be faithful to the end. For the sake of our children, for the sake of our parents, let's unite and follow the path of democracy,”
Public Reaction to the Appointments
Criticism to the new appointments came quickly both from the political opposition as well as the public at large. Being largely unknown, and being a decorated officer, few commented on or criticized the appointment of Minister Efros to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The appointment of Dan Perciun as Minister of Education also elicited only minor criticisms with most statements stressing that as an MP, Dan Perciun has been known to be a specialist in the field of Social welfare and in parliament he led the Committee on Social Protection. Moving him from this position to the Ministry of Education where he is less qualified (but still qualified) shows that the PAS Party is struggling to staff the government.
Opposition voices also called out the government for a lack of transparency in conducting a surprise cabinet shakeup and choosing not to much explain either the firings or hirings. But the vast majority of the criticism is on the choice to bring Andrei Spinu back to the Ministry of Infrastructure.
On the milder end of these criticisms, political experts interviewed by the press noted that Minister Spinu has a very low public trust rating and that will guarantee political blowback against PAS. Furthermore, the lack of transparency over how these decisions have been made is fertile ground for opposition attacks. Andrei Spinu’s journey over the last 6 months has been from “Minister of Infrastructure (with an Energy portfolio) and Deputy Prime Minister;” to removal in the cabinet shakeup when Prime Minister Recean was appointed in place of PM Gavrilita; to an advisor to the President; and now back to the Ministry of Infrastructure but no longer as a Deputy Prime Minister and with a much reduced portfolio (with some responsibilities shifted to the Ministry of Energy).
Opposition voices were quick to launch attacks on Minister Spinu and his reappointment is likely to be politically charged for some time to come.
PAS representatives took to the media this week to defend the moves stressing the PM’s right to pick his own team and make personal changes as he sees fit. Asked about Minister Spinu’s return, most stressed that because of his past experience the Minister will be able to quickly get up to speed on the job.
Initial reactions like this set a tone going forward but are not necessarily indicative of actual political consequences. All 3 Ministers will be judged on their ability to communicate with the public and about the work of their Ministries. We’ll follow this in Moldova Matters as they settle in.