Prime Minister Iurie Leanca kept the leading position in the November Top 50 rankings of the most influential Moldovan politicians compiled by the Institute for Political Analysis and Consultancy “Politicon”. The second place is taken by the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Vlad Filat, while Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman ranks third. The experts of “Politicon” said the positions in the rankings were influenced by Moldova’s success at the Easter Partnership Summit of Vilnius, where the Association Agreement with the EU was initialed, IPN reports.
The fourth position is taken by Head of Parliament Igor Corman. President Nicolae Timofti kept the firth place, while the leader of the Communist Party Vladimir Voronin preserved the sixth position.
The leader of the Democratic Party Marian Lupu ranks seventh, up one spot. He thus outstripped Mayor General of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca. The experts of “Politicon” said the Vilnius Summit and other public events attended by Marian Lupu helped him climb up to the Top 10, after being outside it for several months.
Compared with October, the first deputy chairman of the Liberal Party, Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca slipped one spot to the eighth. Experts explain the fall by the events that affected the Liberal Party, where Dorin Chirtoaca is expected to play an important role in overcoming the internal crisis.
The ninth and tenth positions are taken by two ministers – Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar and Minister of Agriculture Vasile Bumacov respectively. The presence of the two ministers in the Top 10 is explained by the fact that both of them are closely connected with the eastern factor. They are negotiating sensitive subjects of the Moldovan-Russian relations with Russian officials.
“Politicon” says the leader of the Liberal reformers Ion Hadarca managed again to surpass his main rival, the Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu, who, unlike Marian Lupu, cannot return to the Top 10. Together with Hadarca, the Top 20 rankings include businessman Ion Sturza, who is expected to join the Liberal Reforming Party as its leader.
The November rankings were compiled with the participation of 29 experts. Each expert assessed the politicians’ influence on the major political decisions taken in the country, their public popularity, visibility in the media and the political prospects.
