Faced with trumpets: what changed in Moldova after the presidential election
In Moldova, a month has passed since the scandalous presidential election. At that time, the authorities promised to revise the current policy due to the unsatisfactory results, but now it is clear that this did not happen. There are only two new faces in the government, social budget items are being cut, and an energy crisis is on the verge of happening due to the refusal of Russian gas. At the same time, Maia Sandu's team is already preparing for the next electoral procedure - parliamentary elections to be held in six months. "Izvestia" analyzed the situation.
Reshuffles in the government turned out to be minimal
On October 20, the first round of presidential elections took place in Moldova, which became a real sensation. Contrary to numerous forecasts, the incumbent head of state Maia Sandu could not get an absolute majority, her result amounted to 42%, while the main competitor Alexandru Stoianoglo gained 26%, as a result, the winner was revealed only in the second round. On October 20, the Euro-referendum was also unsuccessful, where pro-Western forces received a microscopic majority only due to the votes of Moldovans living in the EU and the USA.
After what happened, the Moldovan authorities started talking about large-scale transformations, Maya Sandu announced high-profile resignations of her team members. "We made many mistakes, although we had good intentions. Some people in the government coped with their tasks worse than others. I think that changes will take place before the end of the year," she said, adding that she learned about people's requests during election trips. The media reported that at least six Moldovan ministers out of fourteen would lose their posts.
In the end, however, the head of the government Dorin Recean announced only two personnel decisions. First, the Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Bolia moved to the vacant chair of the Minister of Infrastructure. Instead of him, entrepreneur Liudmila Catlabuga will be in charge of agricultural policy, who immediately admitted that she has no action program. Second, the head of the Interior Ministry, Adrian Efros, left his post and was replaced by the deputy head of the ministry, Daniela Misail-Nikitina.
The opposition called these simple castling a profanation. "Laughter through tears. It seems to me that we are all being held for fools. It is a pity that incompetence is the defining characteristic of this government," said Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban. For his part, former President Igor Dodon emphasized that "cosmetic repairs" do not correspond to the demand for changes, a complete resignation of the government is needed. At the same time, Maia Sandu said that people of good faith have come and should be respected.
The Minister of Energy is going to Russia
Other stories are developing in a similar way. Thus, during the pre-election battles, Maia Sandu promised to pay more attention to the social sphere and economy, which is especially important in Moldova, as the country is one of the poorest in Europe. Immediately after the end of the election campaign, however, the matter took a different turn. In late November, it became known that the ruling party had rewritten the budget for the rest of the year.
According to the new draft, the Ministry of Health will receive 72 million lei less than planned, the Ministry of Social Protection - 51 million less, the spending on the Agency for Scientific Research will also be reduced. At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will receive an additional 153 million lei, as well as the Defense Ministry, which has already received a record amount of funds this year. Contributions to the Council of Europe Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund will also increase, so that Chisinau will be able to borrow more in the future.
Another important story concerns the relations between the authorities and the opposition. Immediately after winning the elections, Maia Sandu promised to become a "president for all", to consolidate society. In reality, however, the situation of the opposition continues to deteriorate. It is known that 59 criminal cases have been opened on charges of vote-buying, more than 500 searches have been conducted, and the supporters of oligarch Ilan Shor are under attack first of all. The police make no secret of the fact that they are conducting surveillance and tapping the phones of "hundreds, if not thousands of citizens".
Moldovan incumbent president Maia Sandu
The only area that has seen changes is relations with Russia. Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that in the future it would be good to restore cooperation between the countries, and Energy Minister Victor Parlikov even went to St. Petersburg for talks. The reason for this is understandable. The fact is that in January the contract on transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will expire, as a result Transnistria may be left without blue fuel, and Moldova - without electricity, Chisinau in such conditions is looking for ways to avoid an energy crisis.
The next elections will be held in six months
In a few months the next electoral procedure - parliamentary elections - should take place in Moldova. They will be even more important than the presidential elections, because the country is a parliamentary republic and the legislative body has more powers than the head of state. The specific date of voting has not been determined yet. It is believed that in case of success, Sandu could announce a snap election in the spring to help her party PAS with her personal rating. Now, apparently, it will be the summer months or even early fall, so that voters, on the contrary, forget about the current events.
At the same time, the contours of the future campaign are already being drawn now. Maya Sandu's party will continue to rely on pro-European voters, propaganda methods will remain the same, and mobilization of supporters living in the EU and the USA will be even more active. At the same time, the association will receive the support of Western structures, characterized in this sense by the hints of a number of European politicians that Brussels will reduce funding for Moldova if the PAS opponents get the majority in the parliament.
Among the opposition forces, several associations stand out. First, it is the Party of Socialists of former President Igor Dodon, which insists on holding early parliamentary elections. Secondly, it is the MAN party of the popular mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban. The latter is now busy enlarging his association by absorbing smaller political structures. Thirdly, it is "Our Party" of the former mayor of Balti Renato Usatii. The party traditionally takes "bronze" in presidential elections, but performs worse in parliamentary elections.
The main intrigue is the fate of Alexandru Stoianoglo, who successfully opposed Sandu in the presidential elections. He has already announced his dissociation from Dodon's Socialists, who helped him fight for the post of the head of state. Now he will either create his own party or join some other political force. The second option may be more preferable, because he has no experience in party building, and his sources of funding are also in question.
What experts say
Moldovan political scientist Alexander Korinenko says that Maya Sandu's steps after her re-election disappointed even many of her supporters.
- The main issue was the reshuffle in the government, with many expecting the unpopular ministers of health, energy and economic development to lose their posts. All of them, however, retained their posts. It is difficult for me to speculate why this happened. It is known that some professionals, experts in their fields, refuse to work in Sandu's team on principle. On the other hand, the president herself apparently decided not to take any risks and to keep the team of people loyal to her," he said.
Corneliu Ciurea, a political analyst, said that the situation was traditional for the election cycle. According to him, the president promised people changes in a difficult situation, but when she was re-elected for a new term, she simply forgot about her own words.
- Now parliamentary elections are on the agenda. The PAS party's rating is still quite low, although Sandu and her team have trump cards up their sleeve, primarily administrative resources and diaspora votes. If things go very badly, it is quite possible that we will see interesting alliances and unions. For example, the ruling party may unite with one of the centrists, say, with Ion Cheban or Renato Usatii," he predicts.
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