The Moldovan Parliament confirmed Natalia Gavrilița as Prime Minister on Friday (August 6th) and approved her plan to free this post-Soviet country from a long-term crisis and bring it closer to the European Union.
The main pro-European party achieved a huge victory in a parliamentary poll last month and strengthened the power of President Mayasandu when pushing for reforms in Moldova.
In the early elections convened by Sandu in April, her center-right Action and Solidarity (PAS) party received 52.8% of the votes to support her opposition to pro-Russian legislators obstructing reform.
On Friday, 61 lawmakers in the 101-seat parliament voted to approve the candidacy of 43-year-old Gavrilița, a former Harvard-educated Treasury secretary.
“The government faces an extremely important task-to show that Moldova can be governed by well-intentioned honest people,” Gavrilissa said in announcing her plan.
The new prime minister stated that she hopes to change Moldova and its political class and stop corruption.
To this end, she added that she increased the number of cabinet ministers from 9 to 13.
She said the government will focus on reforming the judicial system, attracting investment, creating high-paying jobs and increasing pensions.
“The new government will not steal or implement laws that encourage corruption or divide up state funds,” Gabrilissa said.
As one of the poorest countries in Europe, Moldova has been plagued by numerous political crises and corruption scandals.
In 2014, US$1 billion disappeared from the three major banks and plunged the country into a deep crisis.
Despite its small size, the politics of Moldova, which is sandwiched between Ukraine and NATO member Romania, has long been very sensitive.
For a long time, about 2.6 million people have been divided because of closer relations with the European Union or maintaining Soviet-era relations with Moscow.
Sandu, a 49-year-old former World Bank economist, was elected president in November last year.
