Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), has said that it does not matter who serves as prime minister or whether the government is reshuffled, arguing that “as long as the system of governance built by Maia Sandu remains in place, nothing will change. This government, whether led by Tofan or anyone else, if it truly wanted to solve the country’s problems, would have to start with those who are governing now or have governed until now,” TRIBUNA reports.

“They say they have understood their mistakes and will fix them. That means they first need to put their own house in order within PAS, starting with their own interests and the people who have taken control of the decision-making process and access to state resources, whether we are talking about the budget, permits, or licenses. These are not my words; these are realities that have already been identified and are felt by everyone conducting business in the Republic of Moldova.

As for promises, let us remember the evening when Maia Sandu won her second presidential term. She said: ‘We have understood our mistakes, learned our lesson, and will come forward with measures to change the situation.’ Well, from 2024 to 2025, absolutely nothing changed. On the contrary, rights were restricted even more aggressively, while the state budget was increasingly directed toward PAS’s clientele and electoral projects. Ahead of the 2025 parliamentary elections, Maia Sandu endorsed the PAS candidate list and said she was capable of compiling candidate lists for other parties as well. In her view, she selected very good candidates and even campaigned for them, despite the Constitution not allowing her to do so. At the same time, she claimed not to know what her own cousins were doing. That’s just an aside,” Filat said during the “Puterea a patra” programme on N4.

The politician noted that after the 2025 parliamentary elections, the public was once again told that the authorities had learned their lesson and would change the situation. “‘We’re taking off the white gloves.’ That was already being said back in 2024. Another year has passed, and nothing has changed.

“To change the situation, you have to change those in power. And this prime minister is unprecedented in the Republic of Moldova: he is the first to have effectively nominated himself through his own proposals, his conduct, and, as far as I know, through lobbying by certain influential groups within PAS. As far as Maia Sandu is concerned, he did not need any lobbying because he and Dorin Recean were effectively on the same team.

And once again, this prime minister is not coming to put Moldova in order because he simply cannot. As long as this governing system remains in place, his mission is to save the regime. And that is a mission impossible — Mission Impossible. Because the people he has to work with are the same, and the condition to which this government has brought the Republic of Moldova is so severe that austerity measures alone are no longer enough,” the PLDM leader said.

Filat stressed that the country needs genuine reforms rather than fiscal policies based primarily on tax increases. “Anyone can raise taxes. What is much more difficult is to implement reforms that ensure efficient tax administration, expand the tax base instead of shrinking it, and thereby make it possible to carry out the projects the country needs,” the former prime minister concluded.