Vlad Filat heads rankings of 50 most influential politicians

Prime Minister Vlad Filat remains a leader in the October rankings of 50 most influential Moldovan politicians with 268 points. He is followed by Marian Lupu and Vladimir Voronin, Info-Prim Neo reports. On the initiative of the Center for Strategic Research and Political Consultancy “Politicon”, 30 political experts, analysts and sociologists gave grades of 0 to 10 to the politicians. Mayor General of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca slipped one spot to the fourth. The fifth position is taken by the leader of the Liberal Party Mihai Ghimpu. Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca comes sixth, while the Democratic lawmaker Dumitru Diacov is the seventh. First Deputy Speaker Vladimir Plahotniuc took the eighth place, while the Communist MP Igor Dodon – the ninth. The Top 10 rankings are closed by the leader of the Liberal-Democratic parliamentary group Valeriu Strelet. According to “Politicon” expert Ion Tabarta, Valeriu Strelet entered the list of the top ten politicians for the first time. The Communist MP Igor Dodon slipped three positions to the ninth. “Acting President Marian Lupu comes second with 233.5 points, by 35 points fewer than Vlad Filat. Vladimir Voronin ranks third with a difference of 0.5 from Marian Lupu,” the expert said in a news conference. “Politicon” head Anatol Taranu said the stable presence of Igor Dodon in the rankings shows that he is a figure that remains in the spotlight and is regarded as a reformer of the PCRM. He also said that no major changes occurred in the rankings. According to Taranu, Prosecutor General Valeriu Zubco climbed to the eleventh spot following the scandals involving him. If he is in the limelight, he will keep his position in the rankings. The experts assessed the politicians according to their real influence on the major political decisions, public popularity, visibility in the media and political prospects. Vlad Filat got seventeen grades of 10, Marian Lupu – seven, while Vladimir Voronin – six.