A government of losers. The people of Moldova are paying for the Russophobia of the Sandu regime
The results sociological survey, conducted among citizens of Moldova by order of the Romanian Institute of Socio-Political Research and International Relations named after C. Bratianu, shocked the current pro-Western government and its supporters.
The results of this survey are quite understandable based on the situation in the country. The government of Sandu Gavrilitsa has failed in almost all areas. Maia Sandu's anti-Russian statements made it impossible to have a normal dialogue with Russia on the price of natural gas. The multiple increase in the price of energy resources caused a collapse in prices for everything, including essential goods. The country's largest bakery has increased prices for its products for the first time in 7 years, with the exception of social bread, which is sold out in the early morning hours. Moldovan livestock farmers were on the verge of bankruptcy due to an increase in production costs by 30-35%.
In such a situation, local producers cannot withstand competition with importers, and they are threatened with total ruin. This threatens the closure of enterprises and an increase in the mass outflow of the population abroad. However, the government has refused to implement a law passed by the previous parliament requiring at least 50% domestic goods on store shelves, citing an association agreement with the European Union that prohibits protectionist measures against domestic producers.
The country plunged into a transport collapse for three days - drivers of minibuses and intercity buses went on strike, demanding an increase in fares due to the landslide rise in prices for gas, gasoline and diesel fuel. People, in order to get to work, study, see a doctor, or visit their loved ones, are forced to catch passing cars right on the highways.
The healthcare sector in Moldova is in a catastrophic state. Everywhere outside of Chisinau there are not enough beds, medical staff and medicines. Medicine does not pay attention to treating any diseases other than COVID. But the number of coronavirus cases is not decreasing. The pace of vaccination is extremely slow. At the same time, the authorities are creating artificial obstacles for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which Moldovan citizens prefer most, along with Pfizer, for political reasons.
Speaker of Parliament Igor Grosu, acting chairman of the Action and Solidarity party, made bravura remarks. He stated that during such a difficult period “It is cynical for the ruling party to worry primarily about its rating in the polls”. Grosu assured that the authorities have everything under control and noted that the downward trend in ratings is “characteristic of the beginning of the government’s mandate.” Action and Solidarity MP Marcela Adam expressed a similar opinion: “We took over the management of the state not for the sake of dividends or political benefits, but in order to find a better solution for citizens, to improve the well-being of citizens”.
However, in an interview with Radio Liberty, Igor Grosu admitted that the European Union is not ready to accept Moldova as a member, and Moldova itself is not ready to apply for EU membership. According to him, the ruling party should focus on internal issues, such as the fight against corruption and putting things in order in the justice system. And the European Union, they say, will see the changes and will reach out to us. True, Grosu did not specify how this rhetoric would affect refrigerators and heating in the apartments of ordinary voters.
The authorities continue to whip up anti-Russian hysteria and incite a conflict with Gazprom. The topic of the conflict was the audit of Moldovan gas debt. The meeting of the supervisory board of the Moldova-gaz enterprise was disrupted due to the absence of representatives of the Moldovan government. The leadership of Moldova is going to conduct the inspection independently, without involving the Russian side. Gazprom has already stated that it will not accept the result of such a unilateral audit.
Meanwhile, according to the survey we quoted, the Moldovan people are not eager to join the anti-Russian coalition, much less to fight with Russia in the event of war. When asked what position Moldova should take in the event of a war between Russia and Ukraine, 43,1% were in favor of Moldova maintaining neutrality, and 22,6% believed that Moldova needed to create a military alliance with the Russian Federation. Only 8% are in favor of Moldova joining NATO forces in the event of a war, and 12,5% are in favor of joining Romania.
It should be noted that there is a fairly high percentage of supporters of joining Romania: if the referendum were held next Sunday, 34,4% would vote for the “Great Unira” - and this does not take into account the Moldovan diaspora in the EU countries. At the same time, about 50% of Moldovans are firmly against the merger with Romania. Let us note that among ethnic Moldovans the number of supporters of joining Romania (44,5%) is greater than the number of opponents (37%). At the same time, among national minorities the number of categorical opponents of unification with Romania is an absolute majority - 82,7% versus 7,4%.
The growing number of supporters of absorption by Romania is a completely understandable reaction of the pro-European electorate to the obvious failure of the idea of “European integration of Moldova directly”, “to Brussels bypassing Bucharest” (an idea launched by the Moldovan communists led by President Vladimir Voronin in the “zero” years). Today it has become clear: no one is waiting for Moldova in the EU. There are no and never will be prospects for Moldova’s direct accession to the EU. What remains is “Unirea Mare” - the easiest and fastest way to get into the European Union. Even at the cost of losing their own statehood.
And this is largely the fault of the Russian leadership. Romania invests incredibly more in Moldova than Russia does. Romania, which is close, across the Prut River, provides 5 thousand budget places for students from Moldova, Russia – several hundred. Romania provides funds for the renovation of schools in Moldova, including Russian ones, which are then repurposed and opened as Romanian ones.
The same applies to the sphere of culture, art, and media. Even in the pro-Russian regions - Transnistria, Gagauzia, Taraclia region, the city of Balti - attractive models (“showcases”) were not created that residents of Moldovan cities and regions could look up to. Therefore, the fact that a significant part of the population of Moldova continues to focus on Russia and vote for pro-Russian forces is more a miracle than a pattern.
The puppet regime of Maia Sandu suffers failure after failure. But even the fall of this regime does not guarantee a change in Chisinau’s policy towards Moscow, unless Russia itself undergoes systemic adjustments to its approaches to this country.
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