Opposition about the Red Button Talk Show in Moldova: We Have Asked for Something Absolutely Different

The concept of the Red Button implies that four guests will be invited for a discussion: a government representative or an author of a draft law of social importance, two representatives of the extra-parliamentary opposition, and a non-governmental organization representative. The first edition of this program was broadcast on Wednesday, November 22, and was hosted by the journalist Dorina Iurcu. The talk show guests were Valeriu Munteanu, the LP deputy, Bogdan Tirdea, the SPRM deputy, Mihai Popsoi, the PAS member, and Pavel Postica, the program director at Promo-LEX Association. The topic debated was the failed referendum for the dismissal of Chisinau mayor held on Sunday, November 19.

Cristina Bujor, the spokesperson for the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), which requested an hour of broadcasting for the opposition at the headquarters of Moldova 1 public TV channel during the protests on September 17, claims that the PAS will not be able to convey key messages to citizens due to the current format of the program.

“The opposition parties have demanded an hour for opposition in order to give people access to the information different from what the government provides, not for a show where a representative of the authorities, be it the SPRM or the DP, is always present. Moreover, a weekly broadcast in the talk show format is insufficient to inform citizens of opinions and positions of the opposition about the corrupt practices of the authorities”, Cristina Bujor mentioned.

Besides, the PAS also shows dissatisfaction with the way the concept of the program was discussed.

“The idea of this talk show had to be coordinated with the political parties which requested the broadcasting time before the format and the concept were finalized and the show was scheduled, especially since it is unclear who and in what manner will decide what initiative of the week is the most important one and has to be chosen as a topic, select the debate participants, etc. However, besides these deficiencies, the opposition parties have asked for something absolutely different – to give citizens complete information by guaranteeing  the opposition forces the possibility to present their view of the most important problems in the country in order to prevent the  authorities’ permanent  manipulation from being the only information available to people”, Bujor added.