Expert: A Political Trap for Maia Sandu and the Pro-European Forces Is Being Prepared

Sergiu CEBAN The participants of a continued hot political fighting in Moldova are actively seeking to outplay each other and take a better position before the early parliamentary elections The internal political uncertainty continues to occupy the minds of almost all Moldovan politicians and party structures, which, due to high mutual mistrust and the desire to inflict the maximum mutual damage, cannot come to a common denominator regarding further actions to level the domestic situation. Maia Sandu, who is under severe pressure from both the opposition and her notional partners, apparently sees no other way than nominating a new prime minister, especially since the parliamentary factions demonstrate in every possible way the absence of a capable parliamentary majority needed to nominate their own candidate. Thus, the current week may well become a decisive one, when early elections either become one step closer, or even be postponed to a later date. The timid attempts by the PAS faction deputies loyal to the president to persuade the PSRM to sign a declaration pledging not to vote for candidates for prime minister ended up in Igor Dodon's traditional Friday stream, in which he completely rejects any joint statements with Sandu's representatives. In turn, the socialists were happy to openly demonstrate to the Moldovan audience how the pro-European forces with their last strength wanted to come to an agreement with the “pro-Moscow” forces, putting the lid on their own desires. The PAS leaders having no sufficient political experience could not escape getting into the PSRM's another tactical trap.  The "young Europeans" might be well expected to continue failing in a similar way with enviable regularity. Meanwhile, Igor Dodon is trying to tighten the internal political crisis knot as firmly as possible and is preparing for various scenarios, especially those that will seriously damage the head of state's image and positions. To make the suspense even more intense, the leader of the socialists unequivocally hints that the PSRM faction may well vote for a competent specialist for the head of government post, which will divert all the negative of the social and economic situation in the state. The ex-president, apparently, still has hope for removing his main rival from the political Olympus and regaining his lost positions. Ideally, Dodon needs a situation in which the Socialist Party, with the support of other interested parliamentary groups, could initiate an impeachment procedure against the current head of state with serious consequences for Maia Sandu's political prospects. At the same time, non-public sociological polls seem to show that the PSRM itself does not have the best pre-electoral indicators; they certainly require certain adjustments in order to break the continuing decline in the ratings of both Igor Dodon and his party after the defeat in the presidential election. In this regard, individual initiatives are spread in the public space, which, most likely, still aim at watching the reaction. In particular, we are talking about the proposal voiced by the ex-head of state to form a bloc of left forces to participate in early parliamentary elections. On the one hand, such electoral projects have several advantages and can strengthen the positions and future representation of ideologically similar political forces in parliament. Such an idea has most likely resulted from the recent elections, which showed the ability of the Moldovan voter, who traditionally votes for left-wing parties, to migrate from one project to another, or even not to vote as a “protest” in the absence of a worthy alternative. As conceived by the PSRM ideologists, a larger political entity is obliged to mobilize broad strata of voters under one pre-election banner, and the bloc of left forces itself should become a kind of future projection of the parliamentary majority as soon as the campaign is launched. However, it is quite obvious that the current relationship between the major left-wing leaders and, above all, their personal perception of Igor Dodon does not give any substantial grounds to expect such a pre-election unity. Only marginal political parties, whose leaders can gain a unique chance to get into parliament on the general list, can still be enthusiastic about the socialist initiative. Also, socialistic “daughter projects”, such as the “Nashi” (Ours) party, may join the possible bloc, whose main task is to win over a part of the voters to contribute to the joint electoral goal. According to experts and political analysts, including those close to the Socialist Party, the latter cannot enjoy favorable pre-election conditions so far. In addition, there is a significant risk that early parliamentary elections can be held under the "Everyone Vote Against Dodon and the Socialists!" general mobilizing protest slogan, like the presidential race. Therefore, in order to dissolve the country's legislative body, the PSRM needs another intermediate stage called "the failed pro-Western government for six months", which should open the eyes of the Moldovan voter to the pro-European parties.