Moldova chooses Europe

Western countries have hailed the results of Sundays parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova, which have sparked anger in Moscow

Bogdan Matei, 02.12.2014, 15:52

Set up as early as 2009, the Alliance for European Integration, including the current coalition parties — the Liberal-Democratic Party, the Democratic Party and the Liberal Party — has won Sunday’s parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova. The Alliance grabbed 55 of the overall 101 seats. Party leaders have already announced their intention to keep the coalition going, while Democrat leader, former Prime Minister Vlad Filat, former Parliament Speaker Marian Lupu and former interim president Liberal Mihai Ghimpu see Sunday’s vote as an expression of keeping the current format of the Government.

The pro-Western Alliance has had its ups and downs over the last period, with Filat and Ghimpu exchanging allegations of corruption and bad management. The Liberals want Moldova to join not only the EU, but also NATO, also engendering the unification with Romania as a possibility. The Democrats on the other hand advocate military neutrality under the Constitution, and the so-called “Moldovan statehood”.

The desire to emerge from the sphere of influence of the former Soviet Union and to adhere to European values, such as the rule of law, democracy and prosperity, has outweighed political infighting. The simple, yet painful reforms fostered by pro-European parties were rewarded last summer, as Moldova was offered to sign the Association and Free Trade Agreement with the European Union.

The Government led by Liberal-Democrat Iurie Leanca hopes that Moldova will be given EU candidate status by 2017 and become a full EU Member State by 2020. In the meantime, the pro-Russian leftist opposition, comprising the Socialists and the Communists, continues to argue against the European integration of Moldova and to call for closer relations with the Russian Federation.

Voted by not too small a minority and by Soviet diehards, the Socialists have announced, through the mouthpiece of their leader Igor Dodon, that they will further criticize the Association Agreement with the EU. The US State Department has described the elections in Moldova as “an important landmark on the path towards democracy”, urging Moldovan leaders to form a Government as soon as possible with which the USA is ready to cooperate.

In Bucharest, outgoing president Traian Basescu, president elect Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Victor Ponta have surpassed all internal disputes and jointly hailed the victory of Moldovan pro-Western parties. Sunday’s win is good news for Romania, that has been an advocate of the EU accession of Moldova, a country with which it shares the same language, culture and history.