Phenomenon of Political Migration in Moldova

Anton SHVETS

Moldova is a country where power is rapidly turning into migrants, and migrants are turning into power. This endless cycle is not surprising and reflects the current state of the political class and society as a whole.

In mid-July, Veaceslav Platon left the republic. The whole country is discussing this departure and is looking for an answer to the question of whether the disgraced businessman will return to his motherland. The situation is commented on by politicians and even the Attorney General. The Platon’s return after one of his previous departures was achieved only through extradition from Ukraine. The process was organized in the interests of the once almighty coordinator of the ruling coalition, Vladimir Plahotniuc, and predictably ended with arrest and detention. Then Plahotniuc, following the results of the diplomatic revolution in the summer of 2019, became a political emigrant. Given his numerous sins, the oligarch’s political career ended quite happily. At least, not worse than the political career of Vladimir Filat imprisoned for many years by the vengeful Plahotniuc who has defeated the Liberal Democratic Party and effectively deprived the former Prime Minister of the future in power. In this sense, emigration to Moldova can be considered a kind of politically technical move, a natural stage that almost any serious political career risks facing. Right now, a leader of the parliamentary party is hiding abroad, presumably in Israel. Despite the fact that Sor is represented in the legislative body by only six PMs, we are talking about a full-fledged participant in the country's political process. Ilan Sor has mastered online political action art and is actively using it. The PACE member Gheorghe Cavcaliuc stays in Honduras, and even his former head of the Interior Ministry, Democrat Alexandru Jizdan, has gone abroad. Probably, he wants to take a closer look at their criminal prospects from the safest perspective. Another prominent Moldovan politician Renato Usatii has spent over the past decade less time in Moldova than outside of it. This did not prevent him from first becoming the mayor of Balti, and then successfully running in the presidential elections in the fall of 2020. On the contrary, connections with certain circles in Moscow and the reputation of a person capable of achieving personal success in any circumstances helped him accumulate initial political capital. Meanwhile, emigration as a part of the political process is not an exclusively modern phenomenon. We can easily recall the stories with Iurie Chirinciuc, former MP of the Liberal Party and the Moldovan Minister of Transport, who escaped the law in Romania. Moreover, even Petru Lucinschi, the second president of Moldova, has many times weathered the Moldovan political storm in his elite real estate on the Rublyovskoye Shosse in Moscow. Staying relatively safe at home is always the fruit of grueling compromises. This is well known to Vladimir Voronin, who reached an agreement with Vladimir Plahotniuc, international partners, and even with the Left Bank in different years. In July, he returned to parliament after a deal with Igor Dodon, although they have been playing blatant antagonists for the last 10 years. As for the socialist leader, his fate is also not determined. The planned clean up of the judicial and prosecutorial system and other reforms may provoke questions of a criminal procedure against him. The former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, who settled in Russian Rostov, is often cited as an example. On the other hand, the migration and political participation do not develop linearly and in one direction. There are times when a stay abroad becomes not a final, but a springboard for a subsequent career. Thus, the current Prime Minister Natalya Gavrilita has worked for a long time in the Global Innovation Fund in London and other international structures in the UK. In this case, we are not entirely talking about political migration, but there are also many such guest workers who then try to stomp their way in Moldovan politics. Suffice it to recall the former Prime Minister Ion Chicu or the failed candidate for this position, Mariana Durlesteanu. The current government has many members who have worked abroad for quite a long time. For example, Foreign and Defense Ministers Nicu Popescu and Anatolie Nosatîi, as well as Labor Minister Marcel Spatari. Political migration reflects the trends characteristic of the modern Moldovan society as a whole. A significant part of the working-age population finds work and careers abroad, since their skills and desire to work are not in demand within the country. The emerging diaspora actively influences the political life of the country, including the electoral process, gradually becoming also a talent pipeline. The international factor, expressed in the support of individual politicians and forces from powerful external players, who are ready to subsequently provide them with unhindered exit from the country (for example, the United States-Plahotniuc), should not be disregarded, thus fueling the phenomenon of political migration. On the other hand, there are real chances that it will gradually come to naught, first, if the new government could carry out its plans to upgrade the country and at the same time to completely reformat its political system. In case of failure, there is no guarantee that the current leadership will not turn into a new galaxy of political migrants in four years.