CHRISINAU: Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu nominated economist and businessman Alexandru Munteanu as prime minister on Friday after her ruling party won a decisive victory in parliamentary elections last month.
The Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won 55 of the 101 seats, enough to form a government on its own, and keeping the ex-Soviet country on its pro-European path.
The vote in the country of 2.4 million was marred by allegations of Russian interference, a claim Moscow denied.
Sandu has tapped Munteanu in a bid to boost the economy of one of Europe’s poorest countries, which lies between war-ravaged Ukraine and European Union member Romania.
“Following consultations with parliamentary factions, today I signed the decree appointing Mr. Alexandru Munteanu as candidate for the office of prime minister of the Republic of Moldova,” Sandu said in a Facebook post.
Parliament is expected to confirm Munteanu in a vote next week.
- Political novice -
Munteanu, 61, has no prior political experience, and has made few public appearances.
In 2016, he founded a company managing investments in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.
He lived for several years in Ukraine before moving to Bucharest after Russia’s 2022 invasion. He holds Moldovan, Romanian and American citizenship.
In the past he has worked, like Sandu, at the World Bank.
He was also a university professor, who taught outgoing Prime Minister Dorin Recean, who gave up and quit politics.
In a TV interview last week, Munteanu said he was “irritated” when he heard people describe Moldova as one of Europe’s poorest countries.
“I came to help,” Munteanu said, “and will make every effort for us to join the European Union by 2028.”
Moldova applied for EU membership after the Ukraine war started and accession talks began last year.
Munteanu has a master’s degree in economic policy management from Columbia University in New York and one in physics from Moscow State University.
Pro-Russian opposition Socialist leader, Igor Dodon, called Munteanu “a professional” and “a good economist,” but said the party will not vote for him.
“Economics and politics are very different things,” Dodon said.
Political analyst Nicolae Negru told AFP that Munteanu’s nomination shows a switch of focus from security to the economy in Moldova.
“The citizens of Moldova have opted for the European Union and that automatically means that they have opted for peace and prosperity. The new government must ensure this and must respond to voters’ expectations,” Negru said.
