Vladimir Rotar
New Year’s holidays brought a lull in the political life of Moldova. The protagonists of the long-running soap opera called “parliamentary elections in 2019” took back seat, and hard fights in the media field have given way to interesting news about the registration of candidates in electoral districts and information in the income statements of some candidates. Against the background of informational calm, the activity of the scandalous businessman and mayor of Orhei, Ilan Shor, looked particularly contrast. For a while, Shor became the main headliner of the Moldovan media: while the others celebrated the New Year and stored calories at festive tables, Shor gained electoral weight.
Bread and circuses
The political formula of “bread and circuses”, devised by the ancient Roman politicians, is still relevant in the states where the show-politics displaces the real politics. Moldova is no exception. Admittedly, Ilon Shor has plenty of food and performances. “Bread” is a widely expanded media activity in his capacity of mayor of Orhei. Many people of the Republic of Moldova sincerely believe that under the leadership of the oligarch, the city has become almost the best and most prosperous in the country. Shor promises to test and develop the success of Orhei throughout Moldova, but for this, according to the businessman, he needs a deputy mandate. However, the mayor’s ambitions spread even further – right up to the post of prime minister, whose powers Shor is ready to use in a very nontrivial manner.
“I’m sure I can lead the Moldovan government. And then I will move the government building to Orhei, and we will build the rest of the ministries in the regions, and so we will raise the regions”, Shor promised to voters.
The “circuses” also work well for the businessman. He is fighting with the CEC that refused to register a list of candidates from the Shor Party. He rushes into struggle with the pro-European opposition, criticizes his political opponents in very strong terms. At the same time, Shor without any problems receives a certificate of integrity to participate in the elections, while the court session on the case of “theft of a billion,” where Shor is the main person involved, is miraculously postponed again. Shor doesn’t forget to arrange mass pop shows: for example, he organizes tours of the famous Russian artists across the country, with whom he sometimes even awkwardly sings a duet.
Just yesterday, Stas Mikhaylov sang again to everyone at the Chisinau airport at the invitation of Shor, of course. The scandalous oligarch leads such a bright and intense election campaign in the mode of the Brazilian carnival that many began to forget about his connection with the biggest theft from the Moldovan banking system.
Shor gathers the undecided
Using the tried and tested methods of scandalous behavior, Shor strengthens his electoral position step by step. At the same time, he does not get involved in the struggle for the traditional electorate, in which democrats, socialists and pro-Europeans participate. His “front” is undecided or passive voters, who for the most part have lost their remaining confidence in the same old first persons of the country. These are citizens who are frankly tired of high politics and are requiring solutions that are simple and effective in their understanding. There are many such people, and they are a fertile and fresh ground – the target audience of Ilan Shor.
The diligently decorated “national” image of Ilan Shor works well for these purposes. The society grasps hard-hitting and caustic quotations (“I don’t sing very well, but I lay asphalt well”), scandalous clashes with various opponents, populist, but close to ordinary citizens recipes of “Moldova’s prosperity”. In the eyes of the population Shor appears to be a brave and active politician who, unlike others, is not afraid to tell an inconvenient truth. The experience of political life in the CIS area shows that this is far from a weak bet. Rather, the opposite – similar political formations in the post-Soviet states, centered around “popular” rhetoric and a decisive energetic leader, demonstrate sustainability and surprising vitality. The Russian LDPR and its permanent leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, are a vivid example.
Interestingly that even the scandalous reputation in this case does not bother Ilan Shor at all. Firstly, his opponents really cannot boast of a crystal clear reputation. Secondly, almost every resident of Moldova will easily tell the local “open secret”, pointing to the true organizers and main beneficiaries of the “theft of a billion” scheme, seeing the role of Shor in this murky case as a dependent performer. Even the prosecution of the businessman raises his popularity among certain sections of the population – just those who has long mistrusted the official authorities, who actively searched for a scapegoat.
Absorbing the electorate disillusioned with politics, Shor is desperate to approach the highest level of power. Many experts not without reason believe that the businessman is not an independent figure and continues to act in the interests of specific political players. Be that as it may, the scenario of a politician who could unexpectedly stand on his own feet and be beyond control of former masters is not so new to world political history.
The electoral capital gained by Shor that has a good chance to transform into deputy’s seats in February, can be decisive in the post-electoral scenario. What do you think of that: Shor and his “golden” share of several seats in the future parliament? It seems that the traditional political craft of Mihai Ghimpu to become a cherry on top of the coalition parliamentary majority will be taken over. The gained political weight will allow the oligarch to conduct a dialogue with his rivals in Moldovan politics from completely different positions, and Shor, as a shrewd businessman, will definitely start bargaining. 
