Politics
Analysis: A chance for the opposition
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe outcome of the 3 and 17 June local elections, that came as a surprise especially in Chisinau, has triggered political commentaries and debates during the current inter-season political period. Wit
Author: Anatol Golea, Infotag
The outcome of the 3 and 17 June local elections, that came as a surprise especially in Chisinau, has triggered political commentaries and debates during the current inter-season political period. With politicians being on holidays, political analysts are trying to discover the secret of success of young Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca and understand why the rating of the ruling Party of Communists is falling. They are seeking to forecast the further actions of the opposition, as it is for the first time since 2001 that it stands real chances of struggling for power. They are also trying to predict the actions of Communists who are not eager to give up power.
Touching upon the Chisinau mayoral election, it is worth mentioning that the winner had nothing but enthusiasm, while the defeated communist candidate had unlimited financial and administrative resources as well as the backing of the ruling party and President Vladimir Voronin.
Dorin Chirtoaca’s success can be regarded as the “peak of triumph” of the Liberal Party and its leader, Mihai Ghimpu, who has been persistently participating in the fight for power since the 1994 elections, when the Reform Party was set up. At the time, the project turned out to be a failure, with the founders and leaders of that party leaving politics for business. As to the political brand, they left it as a gift to Mihai Ghimpu, who has unsuccessfully tried to promote it. A deputy in the first Moldovan parliament, Ghimpu has never again managed to enter the lawmaking body despite huge efforts.
After repeated failures during various pre-election struggles, Mihai Ghimpu turned out to be the most agile when appropriating – absolutely for free and on legal basis – the brand of “Liberal party” that Liberals of former President Mircea Snegur and of the new opposition leader Serafim Urechean had given up in the wake of struggles. Yet, Ghimpu quickly realized that the name of “Liberal party” has both tradition and doctrine, and opens up quite wide prospects. It is difficult to say whether precisely this name laid the foundation for his party’s success at the latest mayoral election in Chisinau. Undoubtedly, a successful project of the wise through political experience uncle became his nephew – Dorin Chirtoaca.
He has actively promoted himself, set tasks and fulfilled them consistently. Chirtoaca participated in the 2005 mayoral elections and even came second in the runoff (which was invalidated because of low turnout); as ordinary citizen, he used to attend city hall meetings giving rise to minor scandals against the then acting mayor, Vasile Ursu. To put it otherwise, he made himself known and despite his youth and complete lack of management experience, voters saw him as an alternative to the current authorities. His pro-European position and the fact that he has been involved in no corrupt scandals so far has also played an important role.
In addition, he had real good luck with his main challenger, Veaceslav Iordan. An irrelevant and muffled politician, a narrow-minded manager and an insignificant orator with absolutely no charisma – all these helped the energetic Chirtoaca.
It might be that Iordan is quite a nice person, but his spin doctors failed to show this to voters. PR-technologists are still to study Iordan’s ambiguous election campaign, which was worked out under the assistance of Romanian image-makers.
Many reckon that Communists made a mistake when they unexpectedly relieved Vasile Ursu from the office of Chisinau acting mayor and appointing their candidate, Veaceslav Iordan, to this position. Analysts are saying that Ursu would have easily won the election from the very first round. It is impossible to prove that and it is pointless to guess. It is known that there is no use in shaking your fist after a fight, let alone after an election. President Vladimir Voronin himself has said at a recent news conference that “all are wise after the event”.
Public opinion polls are also hardly reliable, as they are highly irrelevant in Moldova and as a rule seek to form the public opinion rather than to study it. Besides, they form it quite unsuccessfully as well. For instance, a few weeks before the June elections, the most authoritarian poll, Public Opinion Barometer, put Iordan much ahead the other contenders. After the election, the survey’s organizers said they should study why another category of citizens not those who participated in the survey showed up at the polling stations to cast their ballots (!).
Actually, this time, in spite of Moldova’s 21st century tradition, participating in the elections were not only retirees, who conventionally cast ballots for communists, but also youths. Those, who have been recently assigned the right to vote, did not want that their grand-mothers and grand-fathers decide on their fate. Despite predictions by sociologists, they went to the ballot. And this was the merit of Chirtoaca and some other former candidates who firmly backed him in the runoff and persuaded Chisinau residents to come to the polling stations.
The main conclusion of the mayoral election in Chisinau is that the overwhelming majority of capital’s residents cast ballots against communists rather than for Chirtoaca. And it was not only the youth that elected him, but also representatives of the middle class, entrepreneurs, intelligentsia and a large part of Russian speaking voters. It was a “protest electorate”. Had the ballot papers included an “against all” column, it is likely that a wide part of voters would have voted against both candidates. But in this case, they voted against the communists’ protégé and, accordingly, for his challenger.
A few years ago, a journalist said that it does not matter who Vladimir Voronin would back at the elections – if he puts forward his hat as a candidate, voters would elect it. This postulate, which was fair at that time, is no longer valid. The personality of the candidate does matter, while Voronin’s support can have a boomerang effect, that is, to lead to a negative outcome. At a certain stage, the Party of Communists became aware of it as well. The Communist newspaper hardly backed Iordan, while his election leaflets even underlined that Iordan is no member of the Party of Communists. Yet, it was too late.
Another difficulty for Iordan resided in that fact that he is not a “public personality” and, in line with the communist traditions, he refused to participate in TV debates. International observers, who came for the elections, stated from the outset that for candidates in their countries, refusing TV debates would mean signing their death penalty. This worldwide practice starts bringing results in Moldova as well, where, in addition, the tradition of holding pre-election TV debates is sparking off.
Communists themselves indirectly contributed to Dorin Chirtoaca’s victory. Over the last few years, they have done a lot to reorient the electorate. And if the international organizations are quite reluctant to believe in the sincerity of the official Chisinau when it comes to European integration, then voters preferred the candidate who matches best the so much advertised European values. Communists, who took power in 2001 due to pro-Russian slogans, have done a lot for the electorate to turn anti-Russian, thus helping indirectly their political challengers. Meanwhile, it seems that the ruling party has not yet made up its mind as to the foreign policy it should carry out.
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu, pay an official visit to Brussels, between September 27-28, being invited by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Today, Prime Minister had a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Moldovan PM thanked the senior European official for the support of the institution in strengthening democratic processes, reforming the judiciary and state institutions, economic recovery and job creation, as well as increasing citizens’ welfare. Natalia Gavrilita expressed her confidence that the current visit laid the foundations for boosting relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, so that, in the next period, it would be possible to advance high-level dialogues on security, justice and energy. Officials also exchanged views on priorities for the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in December.
“The EU is open to continue to support the Republic of Moldova and the ambitious reform agenda it proposes. Moldova is an important and priority partner for us,” said Charles Michel.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita also met with Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, expressing her gratitude for the support received through the OMNIBUS macro-financial assistance program. The two officials discussed the need to advance the recovery of money from bank fraud, to strengthen sustainable mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova, and to standardize the customs and taxes as one of the main conditions for deepening cooperation with the EU in this field.
Additionally, Prime Minister spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership and the Deep Free Trade Agreement, noting that the Government’s policies are aimed at developing an economic model aligned with the European economic model, focused on digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy.
A common press release of the Moldovan Prime Minister with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, took place today, where the agenda of Moldova’s reforms and the main priorities to focus on in the coming months were presented: judiciary reform; fighting COVID-19 pandemic; promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation; strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.
“I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, but I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope that we will continue to strengthen cooperation.”
The Moldovan delegation met Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Tomorrow, there are scheduled common meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport and Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.
Prime Minister will also attend a public event, along with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
Photo: gov.md
Politics
Promo-LEX about Maia Sandu’s UN speech: The president must insist on appointing a rapporteur to monitor the situation of human rights in Transnistria
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to New York, USA, between September 21-22. There, she participates in the work of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a press release of the President’s Office, the official will deliver a speech at the tribune of the United Nations.
In this context, the Promo-LEX Association suggested the president to request the appointment of a special rapporteur in order to monitor the situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region. According to Promo-LEX, the responsibility for human rights violations in the Transnistrian region arises as a result of the Russian Federation’s military, economic and political control over the Tiraspol regime.
“We consider it imperative to insist on the observance of the international commitments assumed by the Russian Federation regarding the withdrawal of the armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the country,” the representatives of Promo-LEX stated. They consider the speech before the UN an opportunity “to demand the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Russian Federation with reference to this territory which is in its full control.”
“It is important to remember about the numerous cases of murder, torture, ill-treatment, forced enlistment in illegal military structures, the application of pseudo-justice in the Transnistrian region, all carried out under the tacit agreement of the Russian Federation. These findings stem from dozens of rulings and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in the region.”
The association representatives expressed their hope that the president of the country would give priority to issues related to the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region and would call on relevant international actors to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms throughout Moldova.
They asked Maia Sandu to insist on the observance of the obligation to evacuate the ammunition and the military units of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, to publicly support the need for the Russian Federation to implement the ECtHR rulings on human rights violations in the Transnistrian region, and to request the appointment of an UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
**
The Promo-LEX Association concluded that 14 out of 25 actions planned within the National Action Plan for the years 2018–2022 concerning respecting human rights in Transnistria were not carried out by the responsible authorities.
The association expressed its concern and mentioned that there are a large number of delays in the planned results. “There is a lack of communication and coordination between the designated institutions, which do not yet have a common vision of interaction for the implementation of the plan.”
Promo-LEX requested the Government of the Republic of Moldova to re-assess the reported activities and to take urgent measures, “which would exclude superficial implementation of future activities and increase the level of accountability of the authorities.”
Photo: peacekeeping.un.org
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