The PSRM-ACUM alliance is not Dodon’s choice. Rather, it was what Voronin claims: “The alliance between the PSRM and the ACUM Bloc was not a result of the socialists’ consistent policy, but the failure of negotiations between Dodon and Plahotniuc …

Change of power in Chisinau. Yes or no? It happened? It did not happen? “The dictator has fallen. The process of cleaning up Moldova has started”. This was the first statement of PAS leader Maia Sandu, after the new Parliament succeeded, with the vote of 61 deputies, on June 7 (in a critical situation) to elect the governing bodies of the Legislature and one day later, on March 8, to form the new Cabinet of Ministers, with Maia Sandu as Prime Minister. PDM, who on the eve of the parliamentary elections of February 24, called themselves the “strongest” party, with the most powerful leader, was left out of the political stage, in opposition, whose vote and opinion could be considered by the 61 deputies or could be disregarded, according to the tradition of Moldovan parliamentarism. In the new political situation after June 7, Plahotniuc became ignored, not taken into account, out of the game of the “power preserve”, from which one government or another usually has a difficult time separating. In the case of the PDM, it is risky enough to only lose the Chisinau Arena, and in addition there are the buildings managed by the party, which sprouted througout the entire center of Chisinau, not to mention “good roads for Moldova” and other “attractive works” beyond the “dividends” paid out from “Moldova-Gaz”, “Union-Fenosa”, “Moldtelecom.” It’s not easy to go to sleep in the evening as the master of all, and to wake in the morning no longer master.

The situation and the turn of events since June 7 bring me back to 2009. Do you think that Vladimir Voronin, who held power in Moldova for two mandates (2001-2009) through the institutions of the presidency, the parliament and the government, had an easier time giving up power? Or to reconcile with his leaving? No. But he left. Vlad Plahotniuc is fighting, does not want to leave, even though it was clear since April (the presidential elections in Ukraine) that the “departure train” was coming through Chisinau. On April 30, Petro Poroşenko, then President of Ukraine, a powerful oligarch and old business partner of Vlad Plahotniuc, transfered the second term in office as head of the neighboring state to the comedy actor Vladimir Zelensky. The Chisinau press wrote then that if this happened to Poroshenko – a pro-NATO politician, a protegee of the Americans, then it is even more likely that it could happen to Vlad Plahotniuc, who had no great relations and access (other than accidental) to official circles in Washington. Plahotniuc – and that’s his biggest mistake since he joined politics, and especially in 2016, when he took over the leadership of PDM, that he did not look (maybe did not even want) to get rid of the bad image of a man with long hands and a client of Interpol. Plahotniuc, who was said to be a close friend of the Voronin household, has stepped on the same line as the Voronin clan: he absolutely did not refuse himself anything he wanted from the moment he came to power, hence the indignation at the thought that everything was over. As it all ended for the Communists in 2010 – although they declared, in 2001, that they have come “for a long time, maybe forever” for the Agrarian Party in 1998 for PPCD in 2009 or for PLDM and PL after 2014. The June 3 escapade – a premiere for the former Soviet space, when three special envoys came to Chişinău at the same time – Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy, Bradley Freden, Director of the State Department of Business for Eastern Europe, and Dmitry Kozak, Special Representative of the Russian Federation’s President to Moldova (the author of the odious Moldovan federative plan) it became clear that Americans, Europeans and Russians do not like the way things go in Moldova. And in order for things to go well, they need to be adjusted. And that adjustment has to start from the “head”, although none of the representatives said anything on the record. But, as a result, a parliamentary majority was formed on June 7 and 8 and a new government was invested. However, at the request of PDM, the Constitutional Court declared them illegal, and the parliament, by decision of the same court, was dissolved and for a week all state institutions have been surrounded and blocked by living shields of people. An interdiction has been placed on the access of new ministers to institutions. On Sunday, PDM pulled people out into the streets in Chisinau. Igor Dodon was the “ball” in which he hit (and rightly) anyone he wanted. Dodon was accused, based on video evidence, of betraying the country and of serving Russian interests in Moldova. And one day later, PDM started collecting signatures for Dodon’s dismissal for the same reasons. Good intentions. But why only now, Mr. Plahotniuc? It is not news that Dodon is a traitor. Let us remember that he went to lay flowers on the tombs of kazaks in Tighina, hugged Krasnoselski after his election as “rmn president”, always opposed the withdrawal of the Russian army from Nistru. He said many times that he wants to federalize Moldova. Why did you not convict him? Why are you silent? He’s your president. Dodon became the head of state with PDM support. Why aren’t you responsible for him, even so that he is traitor. Or is it that betraying Moldova did not bother you, until an alliance with Sandu and Nastase accepting Maia as Prime Minister, even though the place had been reserved since 2016 for Plahotniuc. The PSRM-ACUM alliance is not Dodon’s choice. Rather, Voronin’s statement rings true: “The alliance between PSRM and the ACUM Bloc was not a result of the consistent socialist policy, but the failure in the negotiations between Dodon and Plahotniuc … “We already know that the price demanded by the Russians from Plahotniuc was too high. And Plahotniuc’s refusal deserves a “bravo” for him. But no more.

What’s next? PDM will continue to oppose the PSRM-ACUM governance, but international support will remain on the side of the Sandu Government. Early elections on September 6, as demanded by PDM? Let’s see what the Venice Commission says on June 21st.

Petru Grozavu