The political crisis in the neighboring Republic of Moldova deepens

The Moldovan Prime Minister Designate, Ion Paduraru, has withdrawn his candidacy shortly after his designation

Mihai Pelin, 15.01.2016, 13:16

The latest Prime Minister Designate, Ion Paduraru, decided to withdraw only a day after his designation by President Nicolae Timofti. Paduraru explained his gesture by saying he was
not endorsed by a Parliament majority, which is interested in imposing another
candidate.

Following the election of November 30, 2014, nothing has
functioned properly in the Republic of Moldova. Although the self-proclaimed
pro-Western parties – the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic and the
Liberal Parties – won the election forcing the pro-Russian Socialists and Communists into opposition, the winners have found themselves unable to
handle their own success. They have lately failed to nominate a Prime Minister
and, consequently, the political crisis in the country continues.

Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, has described the situation in the
Republic of Moldova as very complicated, adding that he trusts the Moldovan
politicians. I count on the maturity of the political class in Chisinau to
find the best way for settling the crisis, for instating a strong government
and for maintaining the country’s European progress, the head of the Romanian
state has said. Iohannis has stood for a rapid and good solution to the political
crisis in the Republic of Moldova.

In turn, the Senate’s Foreign Policy Chair, Petru Filip, says
Romania has no right to abandon either the Republic of Moldova, presently in a difficult situation, or its foreign policy’s strategic interest of endorsing the
pro-European progress of the neighboring state. The Romanian official went on
to say that, of late, Romania seems to have throttled down on its pro-Moldova
policy.

In his opinion, the support Romania can offer to the Republic of
Moldova has to comprise both the governmental and presidential dimensions, as
well as the Romanian political parties’ capability to assess the
situation, keeping in mind the interest of boosting the Republic of Moldova’s
pro-European progress. Unless Chisinau gets a new government endorsed until January 29, the president has to dissolve Parliament and stage snap elections.

The most interested in this worst-case scenario are the pro-Russia Socialists, who are presently leading in opinion polls. The former Prime
Minister Iurie Leanca’s European People’s Party has also decided to join the
opposition and pleaded for snap election, a situation all pro-Western political
pundits believe should be avoided. According to some MPs, suspending President Nicolae
Timofti could be another solution, an alternative that has been considered
by Moldovan MPs these days.