At what stage of its historical development does Moldova find itself on the eve of its 24th anniversary from economic, political and social points of view? Is the development process normal, fast, slow? What are the lessons we have learned and those we are yet to learn? What are the short-term and long-term prospects of Moldovan society? These are the questions IPN is trying to answer through a series of articles titled “Moldova at 24 years of age: Who are we? Where are we going?”, by speaking to experts from different fields.
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Lina Grau, foreign policy expert, thinks Moldova could have achieved much more in its 24 years of independence. At the moment, Moldova is far from reaching maturity and remains in a state of economic, political and social instability and uncertainty. This is more obvious when comparing it to the Baltic states that proclaimed their independence in the same period. They decided from the start to build their national independence firmly oriented towards the EU and NATO, but Moldova had a political class and society divided between East and West, Russia and the EU, and tried to have them both. Because of this uncertainty, things didn't progress fast and well.
“In the Baltic countries, they changed their political class from the start. They adopted the lustration law and didn't allow former party elites to take over the new state. In Moldova, the former party cadres are still in power, one way or another, through inheritors and members of the clan or the family”, said Grau.
A normal development for Moldova would be to have closer and stronger ties to the EU and a political class focused on the problems of the country, unaffected by corruption and private group interests. Lina Grau thinks that Moldovan citizens are profoundly European, because the youth go to study in the EU, not to Moscow or Kaluga. Many people to work in the EU, but it is true that most go to Russia because of familiarity with the language. However, those working in the EU are more prosperous. The expert also thinks that Moldovan society is profoundly European, but cannot understand why this doesn't extend to the top of the political class. It may be this discontinuity that hinders Moldova's development as a country.
“I think that the political events of this year have delayed the goal of European integration by 10-15 years. The group interests and the theft scandal have disappointed society and our European partners, who were ready to support us. Now we don't have this support. In order to regain their trust, we need trustworthy politicians, which we lack at the moment and there aren't any on the horizon either. While they counted the money, we lost this prospect”, opined Lina Grau.
As regards the country's long-term prospects, the expert thinks that we will remain in Europe's grey area because we chose personal interests over national ones. On the short term, she expects difficult times because of the huge theft “gifted” to us by the politicians. We have to deal with the devaluation of the leu, increased prices and a drought that will severely affect rural families. As regards politics, Lina Grau doesn't expect early elections because those in power will do everything to cling to it. We'll remain with the same political class, without even the seeds for a new one. On the medium term, she hopes a new political force will arise, one that will show the necessary altruism to do something for the people. “At the moment, I see no such leaders. We have quality people, but none ready to take on such a suicidal task”, stressed Lina Grau.
According to her, “because we didn't take the hand the hand of our partners when they reached out to us, we are now like a rock rolling down the mountain”. The corruption of the political class and the inability of pro-European parties to work for a common goal has compromised our European chance for many years. An optimistic estimation would be 10 years, but a pessimistic one would be much longer. Lina Grau hopes that until then a young generation able to change things will take the stage.
Mariana Galben, IPN
