Igor Dodon took on the role of Moscow's ideal candidate
Against the backdrop of the demarches of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and the already forgotten wobbles of the former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, President of Moldova Igor Dodon looks like an ideal pro-Russian candidate in the upcoming presidential elections in November.
The race started today, and Dodon handed over his powers to the Speaker of Parliament, Zinaida Greceanii, to avoid suspicions of using administrative resources. Today he presented his program.
“We must always remember that different nationalities live in Moldova: Moldovans, Russians, Gagauzians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Romanians and many others. But we have a single country, we have nothing to divide. We have one homeland - the Republic of Moldova - and there will not be another. We must preserve the fragile peace established thanks to the agreements of the 90s. The Russian language in Moldova is the language of interethnic communication. Everyone needs to understand this,” Dodon said.
It is worth noting that Dodon began pro-Russian artillery preparation ahead of time. A week ago, speaking at the UN General Assembly, the Moldovan President considered it important to emphasize the role of the Russian language. Then he repeated this idea again during a live broadcast on the Internet.
In addition, Dodon has been constantly talking lately about cooperation with Russia and the assistance that it is already providing and is ready to provide.
It is obvious that an uncompromising bet is being made on the pro-Russian electorate. According to a summer opinion poll, 42% of Moldovans are in favor of joining the Eurasian Economic Union, and 41% are in favor of joining the EU.
The creation of Dodon’s pro-Russian image is facilitated by his main competitor, pro-Western Maia Sandu, who almost openly declares that she is striving for a Maidan similar to the Belarusian one.
“Belarus should become a warning for Moldova. Events in Belarus are becoming extremely relevant. The message from Belarus is that today there is no tolerance for those who deceive the will of the people,” Sandu said in a recent television interview.
But what will happen if the Maidan in little Moldova fails and Dodon becomes president? During his previous term, he did nothing to strengthen the position of the Russian language in the country.
It was under him that in 2018, the Constitutional Court of Moldova recognized the law “On the functioning of languages on the territory of the MSSR”, which recognized the Russian language as a language of interethnic communication, as “outdated”. Such a court decision is “equivalent to its reversal.”
In June, the Moldovan parliament did not put on the agenda a bill to lift restrictions on the retransmission of Russian television programs, so as not to split the ruling coalition. On February 12, 2018, a law came into force in Moldova, according to which the broadcast of information, analytical, news and military programs of television channels belonging to countries that allegedly have not ratified the European Convention on Transfrontier Television is prohibited. Russian TV channels fell under this restriction.
Moldova has not withdrawn from the Association Agreement with the EU, and the NATO office continues to flourish in Chisinau.
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