Elections in Moldova: Vladimir Putin won a moral victory
Andrey Safonov, political scientist, Tiraspol
At the parliamentary elections held in Moldova on November 30 power remained in the hands of pro-Western and pro-Romanian forces with administrative resources, but we can say that the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin won a moral victory. What does this mean?
Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, which at the turn of 2013-2014, according to various experts, had a rating of 1-2%, based on the results of over 88% of the votes receives 101 out of 25 seats in Parliament, that is, a quarter. This - best result among opposition groups. Intertwined here 2 factors.
First. The Socialists were the only ones who openly advocated for Moldova to join the Customs Union and put forward the slogan “Together with Russia!” Russian President Vladimir Putin previously met with PSRM leader Igor Dodon and his ally Zinaida Greceanii (former Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova). Posters with photographs of this meeting became known throughout Moldova. That is why many supporters of pro-Russian orientation supported the socialists.
Second. The party worked hard throughout the fall. PSRM agitators walked in waves, going around the areas assigned to them several times, distributing propaganda materials. This also had an impact.
As a result, in fact, socialists became the center of attraction for leftist and generally pro-Russian forces in Moldova. Now let's see how they will act next. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
The 2014 elections were the hardest defeat for the Communist Party led by Vladimir Voronin, ex-president of the Republic of Moldova. Earlier, Voronin, in his speeches, promised his supporters a “crushing victory” for the party; but now there is reason to talk about a crushing defeat. Why is that? A number of analysts believe that The head of the party and his inner circle were let down by the desire to “sit between two chairs” - Eurasian and European. The PCRM leadership stated that it would not denounce the association agreement between Moldova and the EU, that Moldova would not reject the European choice. It was also not said that the party would seek Moldova’s membership in the Customs and Eurasian Unions. This resulted in the fact that the communists, unlike in previous times, will be represented in parliament not by the first largest faction (individually), but only by the third. Many PCRM voters were not satisfied with such maneuvering this time.
Could the Eurasians have won in Moldova? I think yes.
First of all, the young and creative politician scored well Renato Usatii, who was at the head of the list of the Patria party. But the authorities removed Patria from the race. Thus, a situation was excluded in which the force, which was predicted to be from 10 to 20%, would definitely pass into parliament. And if “Patria” had passed, then it, together with the socialists, could have turned to the leader of the Communist Party, Vladimir Voronin, and asked him head-on: “Vladimir Nikolaevich, with whom will you create a bloc - with the pro-Western parties or with us, the pro-Eurasian ones?”
By filming “Patria” (one can assume that with the sanction of the West), the Moldovan authorities changed the overall picture and remained in power. What is the situation in the “Coalition for Pro-European Governance”.
The Liberal Democratic Party, which includes Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and ex-Prime Minister Vladimir Filat, receives, as announced, 24 mandates. PLDM is the “silver medalist” of the race.
The Democratic Party, led by the former Speaker of Parliament and former ally of Vladimir Voronin, Marian Lupu, will obviously have 19 mandates.
Frank supporters of the unification of Moldova with Romania and Moldova’s entry into NATO represented by the Liberal Party (leader – Mihai Ghimpu) took their layer of voters - from them 12 mandates.
It should be borne in mind that in fact, about 700 thousand Moldovan citizen-voters living and working in Russia were excluded from the game. This is the majority of Moldovan citizens who went abroad. It's clear that their voices would clearly set the direction for Moldova’s development to the East; The socialists and Patria would get the majority in Russia. On November 30, by the way, an enthusiastic meeting was arranged for Renato Usatii near the Moscow polling stations...
But what happened happened. In Russia, where the largest Moldovan diaspora lives, only 5 sites were opened; Only 15 thousand ballots were sent there from Chisinau...
What's next? The movement of the Republic of Moldova to the West will continue, and Romania will try to present itself as a kind of “special authority” of the West in the Moldovan direction. Moldovan-Russian relations will remain cool. However, given that, according to various polls, the majority of Moldovan residents are still in favor of the country joining the Customs Union and for Eurasian integration, the struggle between West and East in the area between the Prut and Dniester rivers is not over.
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