Instability in Moldova is typically explained away by geopolitics, with the country positioned on a rift between the west and Russia.(c) Roveliu Buga AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved.This Sunday, Moldovans elect a new president. According to opinion polls, Igor Dodon, leader of the Party of Socialists and a proponent of restoring close ties to Moscow, is in the lead. The second favourite is Maia Sandu, leader of the pro-western Action and Solidarity party.
Dodon’s slogan is that “Moldova has a future!” He aims to strengthen Moldova’s statehood by fighting unionism (that is to say, the idea of Moldova joining neighbouring Romania, to which it once belonged). The socialist candidate also promises to build a stable and socially just economy, as well as friendlier relations with Russia and defence of Orthodox christianity. In the latest Barometer of Public Opinion, a survey carried out by the Institute of Public Policy on 20 October, Dodon’s rating stood at 27%.
Maia Sandu, for her part, is more blunt in her promises. “I choose victory” reads the slogan on her campaign posters, “victory over poverty, corruption, and oligarchs”. These words can only be seen in her party’s headquarters. Action and Solidarity was only registered with Moldova’s ministry of justice as a political party a few months prior to the elections. It exists solely thanks to donations, and as such the party hasn’t been throwing money at advertising campaigns. According to the Barometer of Public Opinion, Sandu’s rating is just 19.3%.
