"I Warned You, Don't Say I Didn't." Dodon Explained Why Would Farmers Remember Him

The incumbent President Igor Dodon is confident that farmers, who oppose today the current government, will remember "as best times" the time of his rule and the rule of the current government. Dodon is confident that the new president, Maia Sandu, will not fulfill any of agricultural producers’ requirements. Dodon said this on December 18 on the air of the President Answering video platform. As Dodon noted, farmers are already putting forward not economic but political demands at the protest. “At first, the requirements were related to money, changes in legislation. And now they demand government resignation and early parliamentary elections. This once again confirms that the leaders of the parties, Maia Sandu and Andrei Nastase, are staying behind this protest,” Dodon said. According to Dodon, it is not profitable for farmers if the government resigns. This is because the Cabinet must prepare amendments to the legislation to allocate 500 million lei to the Agriculture Subsidy Fund. Dodon noted that the government did help farmers this year, a thing that in his opinion, the team of the new president Maia Sandu will not do. “Dear agricultural producers! You will still remember the Chicu government and Dodon's presidency as better times. And don't say I didn't warn you. Soon, in a few months, in six months, when the next president will not listen to you and will not give you any additional subsidies, you will remember my words. Cognition comes through comparison,” Dodon said. He also condemned Maia Sandu’s statements, who criticized the police for their actions during the farmers' protest. Because, according to Dodon, it was the police who suffered during the protest, defending state institutions. “I’ll give you some advice. Don't judge the police, because in a few months they will have to protect you from the protesters,” Dodon said addressing Sandu. Recall, farmers gathered in front of the parliament building in Chisinau on December 16. Several tractors drove up the stairs leading to the parliament building. The protesters tried to break through the police cordon, that is why law enforcement officers had to use tear gas. The police said that during the protest four policemen were injured and were taken to the hospital. Sandu expressed regret that force was used against the protesting farmers. “I am convinced that farmers deserve to be treated with respect and they were not being aggressive and hostile. Farmers' problems are our common ones. I ask the police to show calmness and respect for the participants in any protest,” Sandu wrote.