Opinion: US Bets on Plahotniuc in Future Elections

The Democrats who lost trust of the European Union requested support from Washington – and that was some success, RTA expert Vladimir Rotar believes. Last week, Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Andrian Candu, paid an official visit to Washington. There he met with a number of US congressmen and senators, and also generously gave interviews to local media. The main leitmotif of his public statements in the US capital, as usual, was the “Russian threat”. As RTA regular expert Vladimir Rotar notes, the Moldovan authorities, attempting to enlist the support of influential international players, are again playing their favorite geopolitical card. The Democratic Party lost support in Brussels and is looking for it in Washington “The ruling Democratic Party in the country is trying in every possible way to label itself “pro-Moldovan”, it declares complete rejection of the dominant vectors in foreign policy. However, the PDM’s electoral tricks, designed for a purely Moldovan population, naturally, make little impression on the international arena. Therefore, when the question arises on how to obtain favour of Western partners before elections, the Democrats embrace usual rhetoric with a geopolitical “color” – about “Moldova at the forefront of the Russian hybrid war”, said the expert. In the opinion of Vladimir Rotar, in any case the Democratic Party cannot count on Brussels: the European Union seems to hold a grudge against Chisinau for the high-profile failure of European reforms and defamation of the European integration process. In fact, the EU’s relations with the authorities of the Republic of Moldova are frozen until February 2019. Having lost the trust and assistance of the European Union, the PDM, according to the expert, is expected to try to compensate it with a minimum US support and, apparently, there has been some success in realizing these aspirations. “The bet on Washington is proved by regular visits of Moldovan officials to the US capital, and growing number of American lobbyists of the PDM leader, who arrange numerous meetings with local politicians and public figures for Moldovan representatives. Once in Washington, the Democrats are trying to prove their usefulness in the only available way – promoting the “Russian issue”. So Candu during his visit to the United States lavished in related statements in the American media”, says the analyst. The expert recalled that the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, following geopolitical trends, first of all focused on possible Russia’s interference in the affairs of Moldova, as well as the upcoming parliamentary elections. Candu even listed five forms of this interference: through the financing of parties and NGOs, propaganda, energy, unrecognized Transdniestria and cyber-attacks. The speaker said in an interview that in this way Moscow is trying to “take control of Moldova” and “restore the Soviet Union”. “In fact, Candu repeated in Washington the longstanding fears in the world media of Russian revanchism and interference in electoral processes and domestic affairs of Western countries, simply applying them to Moldovan reality. In the conditions of geopolitical confrontation with Russia, which gets more tense literally every day, such rhetoric is well received and adopted by both the American establishment and the ordinary public. Democrats here follow a beaten and rather traveled path. But, I have to admit, this tactic repeatedly proved its effectiveness in the past – and there is no reason to believe that it will not work even this time”, the expert emphasizes. The United States shows favor with the Democrats Rotar notes that at almost the same period of time, when Candu was visiting Washington, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent visited Moldova. He held several meetings with the leadership of the Republic of Moldova and unrecognized Transdniestria, and also gave an interview to NewsMaker. “Tellingly, the “Russian threat” was one of the major topics. For example, the US diplomat said that there certainly had been attempts of Russia to interfere in the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country, and also criticized “Russian disinformation”. However, he gave evasive or general replies to uncomfortable questions concerning actions of the current government. He scolded them only a little for putting pressure on the opposition and invalidating elections of the Chisinau mayor. In general, Kent avoided direct criticism of the Democratic Party and Plahotniuc and even expressed support for the ban on broadcasting Russian TV channels – despite previous obstruction by the EU and even the then US Ambassador to Moldova, James Pettit”, argues the expert. According to Rotar, the visit and statements of George Kent once again demonstrate the pragmatic nature of US politicians, who are ready to close their eyes to some anti-democratic actions of the authorities in exchange for political loyalty. “The United States thinks in large-scale categories and is far from being as scrupulous as the EU in matters of the domestic policy of its satellites. Any, let’s say, not entirely democratic decisions can be “forgiven” in exchange for unconditional loyalty. Moldova itself is not particular valuable either from the trade and economic or from the military-tactical points of view. Therefore, the attitude towards it is purely instrumental, guided by the framework of the rivalry between the United States and Russia on the European continent,” the analyst believes. In this context, the expert points out that the oligarch ruling in Moldova, Vlad Plahotniuc, completely suits the USA. “First of all, the coordinator, who has spoiled relations with Brussels and thus become now even more dependent on Washington, is a convenient partner, who also has all the power in the country right now. Secondly, the leadership of the Republic of Moldova is ready to follow in the wake of US strategic interests in the region: generate anti-Russian demarches and steps, increase the dependence of the national army on NATO, and promote the topic of the “Russian hybrid war”. Naturally, Chisinau receives its benefits. For good behavior, it is encouraged by regular contacts and public support, which adds more legitimacy to the devalued ruling regime in both the domestic and international arena,” the expert says. According to Rotar, the “American maneuvers” of the Democrats once again prove that demonstrative attempts to “get away from geopolitics” are nothing more than a pre-election bluff that has nothing to do with the current reality. “You do not need to have too much foresight to understand that the democrats, balancing a step from the political abyss, will use the geopolitical factor more than once before the elections and after them,” the expert concluded.