Behind the “clashes” between candidates for the presidency in the United States, the topic of the election finish line in a country that is much closer (at least geographically) to Russia than the States looks clearly deprived of the attention of the Russian media. We are talking about Moldova, where the president will be elected this coming Sunday - October 30.
The Moldovan elections are of particular interest due to the fact that, for the first time in 20 years, they will not be held in the format of a parliamentary meeting between parties, when the de facto presidency could be empty for months due to constant squabbles and disagreements of deputy groups and factions, but on the basis of direct popular vote. Changes in the electoral system in Moldova were introduced under the pressure of an absolute public majority, which for almost several months required the official Chisinau to take into account the opinion of the people. The decision to elect the president during a parliamentary vote was declared unconstitutional, despite the fact that Moldova seems to be a parliamentary republic.
The transition to direct presidential elections makes nervous the so-called “Euro-optimists” - that is, that part of the Moldovan political elites that advocate integration with the West (with the EU) in any form - even if by parts or as territorial gains of neighboring Romania ... And this while taking into account the fact that a considerable number of the mentioned “Euro-optimists” have a Romanian citizen's passport in their pocket - just in case ...
And noteworthy euro-integrators of Moldova are nervous for the simple reason that all recent sociological studies suggest that the leader of the socialists, Igor Dodon, has the greatest public approval of candidates for the presidency. Of course, one cannot say that Dodon is a categorical Moldavian Euro-skeptic, but in his election campaign one can clearly see the program line on the need to restore friendly relations with the Russian Federation.
Here is the video about Dodon about the need to restore trustful contacts with the Russian Federation (although the statement that Dodon is the only (Moldovan) politician who is trusted in Russia looks somewhat self-confident ...):
Against the background of how Dodon’s rivals in elections (Lupu, Ghimpu, Leanca and some others) more often during their election campaign, Russia is trying to throw mud in order to please the West, Igor Dodon really looks like a politician who would help return relations between Moscow and Chisinau to level of trust and pragmatics. What is called, without fake Eurofanatism, but also without throwing at the Russian arms too ... There is no need to rush, it is enough just to respect Russian interests, and they, naturally, are on the banks of the Dniester.
In recent polls in Moldova, Dodon is ahead of its closest competitor Maya Sandu by 3-4 times. If Sandu has 8-9% support, then Dodon has about 30%. To win the election in the first round of this is not enough, and therefore we can say that the election process in the country may be delayed, and Dodon’s victory in it is clearly not guaranteed. Not guaranteed, if only for the reason that the so-called “democratic” candidates can decide on a “coalition” to support one of the representatives of their ranks with the sole purpose that the presidential power in the country should not be in the hands of a supporter of establishing interests with Russia. Whether for the sake of this the notorious administrative resource, which today the so-called unionists use, will be a rhetorical question. Especially there is to take into account that recently Moldavia is directly managed by the Moldovan authorities insofar as ... It is customary to coordinate any serious step with the western “friends” - first of all with Bucharest.
For clarity of how things are going in the economy of Moldova before the presidential elections, it is worthwhile to present some interesting statistics. The fact that Moldova "seriously and for a long time" staked out for itself the place of the poorest country in Europe (now Ukraine is ready to argue with it for the last place) is a fact. And it is precisely this fact that the socialists, together with their leader, Igor Dodon, emphasize during the election campaign.
The number of economically active citizens engaged in the Moldovan economy in relation to the 1993 year is 71%.
The average monthly real pension in relation to the 1990 year - 44%.
GDP per capita (2015, data from the Socialist Party of Moldova) - 1843 dollar.
In an analytical summary of the staff of Dodon on the state of affairs in Moldova states:
While maintaining such growth rates (up to 2015 of the year - around 3-4% per year), Moldova will need 63 of the year to close the economic gap (in terms of GDP per capita) with the countries of the European Union, and with the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union - 34 of the year that the growth rates of the economies of the western and eastern partners will be zero.
One third of Moldova’s GDP is made up of remittances from abroad (more than 67% of them are from Moldovan guest workers of Russia).
Obviously, the policy of the so-called “democrats” to aggravate relations with Russia led to this state of affairs in Moldova. But does this mean that the same Dodon, who in Moldova calls the pro-Russian candidate, if elected, will be able to fundamentally change the situation, given that the remnants of the industry that has not been finally finished, have long been sold into the hands, from which it is unlikely to succeed .
However, in this situation, Russia is still more concerned with the political course of Moldova. If a politician loyal to Russia appears at the head of Moldova, who has not yet had time to “work out” europartners, this is a significant plus. And plus for Transnistria. After all, it is not a secret for a long time that the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic is actually in the blockade between two, to put it mildly, unfriendly territories - Ukraine and Moldova. And if relations between Moscow and Chisinau become warmer, for half a million Transdniestrian residents are a real hope just for a normal life - without the intrigues of the Moldovan authorities, who routinely try to settle accounts with Tiraspol.
Looking ahead (perhaps in vain ...) far in advance, it can be stated that the election of Dodon for the presidency of Moldova is unlikely to be delighted in Kiev. Indeed, in this case, Kiev may lose "the stubbornness of Chisinau on the subject of isolation of the same Transdnistrian Moldavian Republic, from which Maidan authorities of Ukraine expect some" military provocations. But Kiev’s opinion in no way fits with the opinion of ordinary citizens of Moldova, who are clearly tired of being held hostage by “Euro-optimists” who feed the lie that the doors to the “European paradise” are about to open to the Moldovans.