Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Head of Parliament Igor Corman, as well as former Premier Vlad Filat top the April rankings of the most influential politicians in Moldova, compiled by the Institute for Political Analysis and Consultancy “Politicon”. According to experts, the abolition of the EU visa requirements for Moldovans was a major political event in April. Evidently, the politicians who made a contribution to achieving this result are among the top 50 most influential politicians of Moldova, IPN reports.

Iurie Leanca continues to head the rankings. He forecast that the visa regime will be liberalized in 2012. Even if the forecast wasn’t an exact one, the objective was ultimately achieved.

The second position is taken by Igor Corman, who had a good performance in the media space and in Parliament. His multiple visits abroad and frequent meetings with different Western officials made him the focus of public attention.

The leader of the PLDM Vlad Filat climbed to the third spot. The experts said he also contributed to the abolition of visas as, when he was Premier, the political class started to actively work to obtain a liberalized visa regime.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman ranks fourth. Her presence among the top five politicians is indisputable. President Nicolae Timofti climbed to the fifth position owing to his political behavior that is free from cheap publicity. The policy he pursues is consistent and he assumed the role of a leader who says less pleasant, but necessary truths.

Mayor General of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca and the leader of the PDM Marian Lupu went up to the sixth and seventh spots. The mayor is constantly among the top ten politicians, while the Democratic leader returned to the top ten on a stable basis.

The leader of the PCRM Vladimir Voronin is the only representative of the anti-European left among the top ten politicians. He continues to be one of the most influential politicians in Moldova and symbolizes the anti-European segment of the Moldovan political class.

The head of the Liberal-Democratic parliamentary group Valeriu Strelet was placed ninth. The first deputy chairman of the PDM Vladimir Plahotniuc returned to the Top 10 after a short pause. Experts consider him a politician that emits political influence of the greatest intensity.

A distinct feature of the April list is the fall of most of the representatives of the PCRM in the Top 50 rankings. Besides Vladimir Voronin, only Marc Tkachuk is present among the top 15 politicians. Analysts consider this is due to the declining rating of the PCRM owing to the lower activism level of the Moldovan Communists and to the uncertain situation on the Eastern geopolitical vector.

The April rankings were compiled with the assistance of 29 experts.