This is the final struggle... or The Internationale in Moldovan style

{Info-Prim Neo analysis, part I “Why Eurasian integration and why referendum?”} By the request, made at the start of last month, to immediately convoke Parliament so that it initiated a legislative referendum on Moldova’s entry into the Eurasian Economic Community (CEEA) and the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union (UV), the Communist Party of Moldova (PCRM) has launched its most important and large-scale political project in the three-year period since it shifted to the opposition. By this project, the PCRM uses its last chance to return to power and stakes its own political fate and Moldova’s fate in general. In fact, the PCRM announced the beginning of its election campaign for the next parliamentary elections and clearly shaped its two big ideas around which the political battle will be given: the Eurasian integration and the European integration. Namely this way should be regarded the things by the political class and Moldovan society in general. Another approach that has already taken shape, like “it’s an aberration”, “a last scam”, “a propagandistic trick”, is dangerously superficial. The PCRM has the right to suggest such an idea for the political agenda of the country, as any other idea. It has the right even to impose rules of the game in the internal political confrontation or at least to pretend to be imposing certain rules, including for election campaigns. This is because the PCRM is one of the greatest actors on the political arena. It is the party that wants to return from the opposition to power and, in a way, is obliged to show initiative and to identify and promote ideas that will favor it. From where and why did the idea of Eurasian integration appear and why referendum? There are a number of explanations in this respect: [One:] The PCRM considers itself a mega-party. It prefers to implement mega-project and ignores those that it considers minor. For a number of objective and subjective reasons, the idea of Eurasian integration for Moldovan society is a mega-idea that offers the possibility of attracting a large number of persons on the authors’ side. [Two:] Not many ideas that can unite the extremely dispersed Moldovan society or an important part of it around a certain goal exist and can be implemented. We will now leave aside the causes of such a situation and the role played by the PCRM during the eight years in power and the three years in the opposition. Among the very few ideas with such a potential is the one concerning the country’s development course and its foreign orientation. In this case, the PCRM did not have too many options and did not show too much inventiveness. In fact, it follows the path of the current government which, while in the opposition, obtained a series of benefits by promoting a similar idea, that of the European integration. The deficit of national ideas that can be exploited is proven by the fact that the PCRM accepted other political forces as co-authors of the idea of Eurasian integration. This has never happened since its foundation. [Three:] The process of Moldova’s European integration, from the moment it was declared as objective of the government program of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) in 2009, does not run as planned and is far from meeting people’s expectations. We will again leave aside the objective and subjective reasons of such a state of spirit, including the blame of the current government. It is the fact in itself that counts. If not, the appearance of an alternative idea with massive support, like that of the Eurasian integration, would have been unimaginable. [Four:] The PCRM has until now used a number of scenarios to remove the current government from power and to take its place, including what it called ‘the citizens’ congress’ or ‘the civic congress’, the large-scale marches and protests, the boycotting of the Parliament’s sittings and others. But they all have been unsuccessful. For three years, the PCRM has said that the AEI is close to leaving, that its days can be counted and that it will fall apart until autumn (summer/spring or winter). But nothing happened. At a certain moment, the PCRM realized that one of the main sources of the AEI’s persistence resides in the massive support provided by the European Union and other Western development partners. The support consists of money and logistic assistance and of the favorable attitude of the European leaders and the European countries. The support is massive and univocal even if the Europeans have sometimes to apply double standards in relation to the Moldovan ‘success story’. This is regarded as investment in the AEI which, instead, pledges to promote the European integration course. The PCRM realized that without interrupting this support for the AEI from the outside it has not chance to take its place. It also has no direct influence on the foreign donors whom they could ‘nicely ask’ to no longer finance the Moldovan government. The PCRM ascertained that this goal can be achieved only by changing the country’s development goal. The Europeans will have no interest in giving money for another course, like the Eurasian one for example. As the PCRM cannot obtain this change either by elections by itself or with the support of insignificant extra-parliamentary political forces, the authors of the Eurasian idea need the masses and, respectively, the referendum. [Five:] The PCRM is sure that the AEI will not accept to hold the referendum on changing the country’s course and does many things to make the ruling alliance reject it. Anyway, the idea of convoking Parliament in an emergency leads to this conclusion. Surely, they do not consider the leaders of the AEI and the AEI in general as political self-killers. But, as the PCRM’s scenario cannot be implemented without the masses, they should be ‘mobilized’ and engaged in their activities beforehand, in an election campaign regime, as the leader of the PCRM Vladimir Voronin said earlier in an interview for the Russian governmental agency ITAR-TASS. The election campaign can successfully take the form of a referendum or an idea concerning a certain referendum. Evidently, the PCRM wants the next parliamentary elections to take place earlier than in two years, as the calculations of the ruling parties show. But even in such a case, the election campaign before the wanted or real referendum will naturally become a campaign preceding the parliamentary elections. Anyway, we must admit that it is an ingenious and effective move from the viewpoint of the political battle. [In conclusion:] The idea of the Eurasian integration and the referendum for achieving this goal that was launched and promoted by the PCRM is a powerful one from political viewpoint and justified, efficient and well-calculated for this important party’s prospect of returning to power. [But:] Both an important party and an ordinary person have the legal and moral obligation to weight their interests by considering the wishes of society. Otherwise, they can have the fate of Herostratus, who set fire to the Temple of Artemida in order to enter history. However, he was executed and, as a capital punishment, an order was issued to forget his name for good. One of the dangers posed by the idea of Eurasian integration to society is related to the way of life of the authors of the idea and their view on the ways and methods of achieving political goals. The PCRM and its partners in this idea are the faithful followers and promoters of intransigence, maximalism and ‘life and death’ confrontation in politics in achieving political goals. At the start of the third millennium, their anthem continues to be The Internationale written in the 1870s, which keeps them prisoners of the ‘final struggle’, urges them to completely destroy this world and build a fair world on its ruins. The second part of the analysis “This is the final struggle... or The Internationale in Moldovan style” will center on this and other dangers posed by the PCRM’s initiative. [Valeriu Vasilica, Info-Prim Neo]