The political parties of Moldova, which offer solving national problems through its merger by Romania, are preparing for the upcoming parliamentary elections. We were not mistaken when predicting the alliance of the unionist parties with the non-parliamentary opposition political bloc including the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), led by Maia Sandu, and the Dignity and Truth Platform Party (DA), led by Andrei Nastase. It seems that such a union is close at hand.
Shape of the Union
The main role in the future united right-wing camp is rightly held by PAS and DA, whose leaders Maia Sandu and Adrian Nastase are new and promising figures in Moldovan politics. Uncoordinated unionist forces will try to get into parliament using the good reputation of Sandu and Nastase. Otherwise, each of the pro-Romanian coalitions runs the risk of being left without any mandates. On the one hand, solid 22% of Moldovans consider themselves supporters of unionism, however at least four parties are fighting for this electorate segment – Liberal Party, Liberal Democratic Party, National Liberal Party and National Unity Party. Personal ambitions and mutual hostility of their leaders prevent the creation of an all-unionist coalition before the elections, and the question of how “Unirea” (Union) can happen without the solidarity of the unionists does not seem to be idle.
According to experts, the current fragmentation of the pro-Romanian forces plays into the hands of both the socialists and the democratic government. The Democrats have repeatedly flirted with the unionists, hoping to attract them to their side. The Constitutional Court, controlled by Vlad Plahotniuc, last year approved the renaming of the Moldovan language into Romanian in the basic law of Moldova. With the consent of the authorities, the symbolic acts on unification with Romania were signed in spring by the people's representatives of more than 150 settlements. Democrats from the government and parliament willingly participated in the unification events in Romania and united the gas transportation and power systems of the countries. It was all over when Vlad Plahotniuc announced the Democratic Party’s pro-Moldovan course, and parliamentary speaker Adrian Candu predicted a civil war if the two countries unite.
Supporters of Bucharest considered such a turn of the PDM as a betrayal. However, by this time the unionists were already divided into several groups individually supported by 2-4% of Moldovans. Analysts believe that Plahotniuc influenced this situation, since he is highly adept at using “divide et impera” method: while sorting things out, the supporters of Romania would take away the votes not only from each other, but also from the non-parliamentary PAS-DA opposition. It is no coincidence that Anatol Salaru, chairman of the National Unity Party, anticipated that his participation in the elections would result in the loss of part of the electorate by Maia Sandu and strengthening the position of democrats and socialists. His former colleague and current opponent Mihai Ghimpu agrees with Salaru, but the liberal leader is not convincing. All because of the difficult political fate.
Way of Ghimpu
Unirea is the cornerstone of Mihai Ghimpu's political career. He declared readiness for a coalition with other right forces back in October, and last week he proposed to PAS, DA and PLDM to unite and propose common candidates for elections. On the eve, Andrei Nastase very inappropriately harshly criticized the leader of the liberals. Ghimpu cannot be forgiven for participating in the events of January 2016, when parliamentarians, under the cover of night, approved the government of Pavel Filip, despite massive protests. Ghimpu is considered to be an accomplice to those who then held Plahotniuc in power, and he explained his behaviour by a desire to prevent the parliament dissolution by the possible victory of the socialists in early elections. Such an excuse, however, convinced few people, and today Ghimpu is openly called a traitor.
Nastase is confessedly negotiating with the Liberal Party bypassing its chairman, for whom the upcoming elections may be the last. It is possible that the hereditary unionist would agree with all the conditions of the PAS-DA bloc, if only to extend his mandate for another four years. One of the conditions may be participation in the elections not by the party, but by its individual representatives according to the lists of a joint bloc. In any case, the possibility of appointing “the best common candidates” was already discussed at the beginning of the week.
Interest of the New Right Forces
Non-parliamentary opposition parties really need votes. According to sociologists, PAS-DA can count on 30-35% of the vote, which is not enough to compete with the socialists with their expected 40-45% of mandates. The alliance with the unionists will be the tactical success of the “new rightists”, since the pro-Romanian electorate remains the most active and radical social group. This support will not be superfluous taking into consideration the obvious political polarization of Moldovan society.
However, experts believe that now PAS-DA bloc is not really interested in becoming unionists: this will scare away a part of the electorate that believes in the concept of “two Romanian states” under the auspices of the European Union and without Chisinau’s subordination to Bucharest. The union under the guise of a harmless and righteous “anti-corruption resistance movement” will help to circumvent this sensitive issue and increase the electoral base. For example, PAS chairperson Maia Sandu almost defeated Igor Dodon in the second round of the presidential election including thanks to the support of the unionists, whose votes allowed her to shorten the distance to the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova.
It can be assumed that in the near future negotiations on the union of right-wing forces will take place with other unionist political groups. The chairperson of the most popular among unionists National Unity Party wrote on Facebook that the upcoming elections “should show the increased maturity of right-wing politicians and unionists,” hinting at the significance of the alliance with Sandu and Nastase. The chairperson of the National Liberal Party Vitalia Pavlicenco was even more straight. In her opinion, the best scenario is to create an unprecedented Euro-unionist platform.
Anyway, an extensive coalition is the only chance for many right-wing parties to get into parliament, so the upcoming joint bloc of right-wing and unionists is obvious. The only question is whether this union will survive after voting and mandate delegation, when the threat of “emergency evacuation” from mainstream politics will be shifted for many unionists by at least a year or two. 
