The Beginning of the End for the Democratic Party of Moldova?

Sergiu CHEBAN The Democratic Party of Moldova may soon face new internal upheavals The beginning of May is going to be marked by first steps to ease the lockdown and promises to be rich in interesting political subjects. One of the main episodes of the coming days will be the fate of the Russian loan, which is now in the hands of the Constitutional Court. According to experts, after Vladimir Turcan was dismissed from the post of the Constitutional Court Chair, the political balance in the court was shifted not in favor of the ruling coalition. Therefore, there is a serious possibility that the CC's decision will be unfavorable for the current authorities. A negative verdict will certainly not have the best effect on the intra-coalition atmosphere, where, apparently, there is a high need for financial support. For example, the internal instability in the Democratic Party is becoming increasingly apparent, and ensuring the unity of political formation requires new organizational and political decisions. Ruxanda Glavan's departure from the faction, who is not just an ordinary deputy but the vice-chairman of the PDM, should be considered as a very alarming signal. According to some reports, she was under pressure from the procedural consequences for her spouse, who is the deputy governor of the National Bank of Moldova. Apparently, Mrs. Glavan was given serious security guarantees for members of her family and, most likely, from outside the country. According to experts, with the formal departure of Vlad Plahotniuc from the PDM, the ideological wing of the political formation is gradually losing its former influence on the party, while representatives of the business group (Andronachi, Nikiforuciuc) are gaining more control of the Democratic Party. By the way, one of the representatives of this group already announced on May 4 the next intra-party dynamics, as evidenced by the videos that fell into the hands of Moldovan journalists. We are talking about a closed meeting on May 3 between representatives of the PDM business wing and Igor Dodon’s confidants. Obviously, the current situation requires the party bosses to make some immediate decisions to restore internal balance in the Democratic Party, which also determines the stability of the power structure as a whole. In this regard, in the very near future, some rearrangements are expected in the PDM's political interior to significantly weaken the party's political wing (Filip, Diacov, Jizdan), up to removing its Chairman Pavel Filip. The latter has so far repeatedly heard unpleasant hints about the futility of his prime ministerial ambitions made in public by influential party members. At the same time, to win over intra-factional groups, one can expect another personnel reshuffle in the government, additional departments or extended job spectrum. Thus, for example, if certain DPM functionaries are demoted in their positions, Minister of Defense Alexandru Pinzari and Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Cristina Lesnic, who are creatures of ex-Minister of Internal Affairs Alexandru Jizdan, may lose their posts in the cabinet of ministers. New internal turmoil within the Democratic Party is unlikely to have a favorable effect on its political prospects. PDM runs the risk of repeating the fate of the Communist Party of Moldova, whose members joined the Democrats several years ago. Therefore, today, despite the possible withdrawal from the faction of the next number of deputies headed by Pavel Filip, it is important for the enterprising PDM group to ensure the minimum required number of mandates to maintain the existing parliamentary coalition. To what extent this task is feasible will become clear in the very near future. Some analysts believe that the current events within the Democratic Party may be the beginning of the end of its political history. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the current DPM functionaries will find themselves in other political projects. Perhaps even now negotiations are underway on the absorption of part of the Democrats by the Socialist faction. Meanwhile, even if the ruling power structure will manage to hold its ground, then, according to experts, it won't be for long anyway. The next shuffling in the deputy corps will gradually reduce the legitimacy of both the current parliament and the current government. The experience of the Filip government is an eloquent example of how severe the pressure and international isolation may be for the existing Cabinet formed as a result of political intrigue and dirty deals.