The New Convocation of Parliament – Submission to PAS

The deputies of the 12th convocation officially began their work on Wednesday and elected a speaker. The first session confirmed PAS’s political monopoly amid the dysfunction and submission of the opposition

Maia Sandu, having completed consultations with representatives of parliamentary parties and pushed through the appointment of Alexandru Munteanu as the new prime minister, visited the newly convened parliament on Wednesday. There, she repeated her usual set of divisive phrases and set her sights on the most promising tool for extending her tenure as head of state. In the legislative body, she saw the dominant position of the PAS faction, which, despite losing eight seats, feels as confident as ever, and a demoralized, fragmented opposition that has effectively given up on political struggle. The Patriotic Bloc, which had previously tried to contest the election results, has split into two factions – the Socialists led by Igor Dodon and the Communists led by Diana Caraman. The latter, for form’s sake and in Russian, criticized Igor Grosu’s intention to remain the Speaker of Parliament but failed to even initiate a proper discussion. Another member of the Patriotic Bloc, former Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev, was left completely alone – independent, unaffiliated, and, apparently, “inauthentic.” Thus, the collective influence of the left wing, which controls a quarter of the seats, has today been reduced to zero. The other three no less “inauthentic” parliamentary factions turned out to be even more docile. Vasile Costiuc’s Democracy at Home and Renato Usatii’s Our Party refrained from participating in the vote for the parliamentary speaker’s seat, thereby only strengthening Igor Grosu’s position. As a result, he easily secured a second term and announced the maximum number of foreign trips for MPs aimed at signing the agreement on Moldova’s accession to the European Union in 2028. Vasile Costiuc tried to draw attention with a headpiece and a subtle performance about the inconvenient office space allocated to his faction in the parliament building. At the same time, he began assuring everyone that Democracy at Home would support the pro-European course and was ready to vote together with PAS on laws supposedly aimed at implementing this agenda. In terms of media attention, the elderly Vladimir Voronin outshone Costiuc. First, he refused to open the inaugural parliamentary session (despite having the opportunity to speak from the rostrum), and then he stuck out his tongue in response to a request for an interview – such is, apparently, the face of the most “oppositional” faction to PAS in the new convocation. Meanwhile, the Communists were once the first to advocate for European integration and the withdrawal of Russian troops, as well as against the so-called “federalization of Moldova” – in other words, they formulated 20 years ago the very platform now being actively used by the ruling party. The ruling party also received gestures of goodwill from Our Party and the Alternative bloc. All three minor factions, despite having been targeted during the election campaign (Romanian sanctions against Ion Ceban, the withdrawal of funding from Democracy at Home, and so on), are now competing to strike a deal with PAS by participating in the formation of a constitutional majority – hoping through this to secure minor posts in the executive branch. The Alternative faction, with little real expectation of success, nominated Alexandr Stoianoglo for the position of Speaker (he received 32 votes – all members of Alternative and the former Patriotic Bloc backed him). However, Alternative itself will remain in a weakened state, now headed by Hayk Vartanean, whose reputation is far from unambiguous. Ion Ceban, for his part, will focus on having his personal restrictions lifted and on defending his position as mayor of Chisinau – and in this sense, he will avoid “crossing paths” with PAS. None of the newly formed parliamentary factions took a principled stand against the course and narratives outlined by Maia Sandu and Igor Grosu at Wednesday’s session, nor did they oppose the appointment of Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, chosen by the presidency. On the contrary, all of them rushed to reaffirm their pro-European (or pro-Romanian) platforms and praised the future head of government even louder and more eagerly than the PAS members themselves. As a result, the voters who supported them have once again been deceived in their expectations. In the longer term, the prospects and ratings of left-leaning parties are likely to decline – their electorate is not only growing weary of constant disappointment and repeated betrayals but is also simply aging. The current convocation of parliament will be their last real chance to make use of a relatively strong left flank. However, it is highly likely that no one will take up this task – the authorities might suddenly “remember” the shelved criminal case surrounding the “black bag.” Moreover, no one yet knows what exactly Vladimir Plahotniuc will reveal, and about whom, at the upcoming court hearings. In addition to the voters, the parties also suffered – those that were unlawfully removed from the electoral race, often as a result of their “partners’” betrayal. Their places were redistributed in favor of PAS and largely the “pocket opposition.” A significant part of these political projects is unlikely to survive until the next parliamentary elections in 2029. It seems that Russia is planning to sharply reduce its political and other support for parties operating at the national level, since such investments are predictably unlikely to pay off, and to focus its resources instead on targeted strengthening of the regions – primarily Transnistria and Gagauzia. Just yesterday, the head of the Security and Intelligence Service paid an unannounced visit to Comrat with the aim of intimidating members of the local People’s Assembly. Even the Moldovan Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church has blessed Speaker Igor Grosu – a vivid indicator that any forces conditionally opposed to PAS have effectively abandoned further struggle. If Alexandru Munteanu manages to ensure at least partial economic growth, and Brussels facilitates Moldova’s formal advancement toward EU membership, the current parliamentary convocation could become the smoothest for the regime in the past two decades. Such a legislative body could easily pass a vote to grant Maia Sandu a new presidential term – naturally, in the spirit of the pro-European integration articles added to the constitution following last year’s referendum. In any case, there appear to be no other contenders for full power in the republic.