An Auction for Voters, at Voters' Expense: Between Populism, Feasibility and Electoral Fantasies
Automatically translated summary. The full text is available in Romanian.
Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” analysed the socio-economic components of the manifestos and promises of contestants in Moldova's early parliamentary elections of 11 July 2021. The assessment looks at relevance, financial feasibility and timeliness, using public data collected from the start of the campaign on 11 June to 24 June.
Of 22 registered parties, only five presented detailed programmes, 12 offered short documents of one to two pages, and for five no document was found. Most priorities fit the sustainable development goals of the “Moldova 2030” strategy, but some proposals, such as price controls, nationalisations or using National Bank of Moldova reserves for public investment, clash with market-economy principles and international commitments.
Most promises are not financially feasible: they lack numerical targets, implementation tools and funding sources. Pensions illustrate the bidding war, with minimum pension pledges ranging from MDL 2,000 (PAS) to MDL 4,000 (PUN). PAS's pledge would cost about MDL 4.3 billion in the first year and MDL 14-15 billion over four years, while PDM, BECS and Platforma DA would need at least MDL 30 billion. The authors urge realistic pledges and ask civil society and the media to monitor them.
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