Vlad Filat tops rankings of most influential politicians

The leader of the PLDM, Prime Minister Vlad Filat has headed the rankings of the 50 most influential politicians in Moldova for three consecutive months. The second position is taken by Acting President and leader of the PDM Marian Lupu, while the third by the Communist leader Vladimir Voronin, who climbed one spot, Info-Prim Neo reports. The rankings are compiled by the Strategic Researches and Political Consultancy Center “Politicon”. Twenty-four political experts, analysts and sociologists give grades of 0 to 10 to politicians every month. In March, Vlad Filat obtained 14 grades of ten, scoring 223 points. Marian Lupu got nine grades of ten and a total of 195 points, while Vladimir Voronin – seven grades of ten and 186 points. “Politicon” head Anatol Taranu told a news conference on Tuesday that no major changes took place in the upper part of the list during three months. “This shows that the experts uniformly assess the Moldovan politicians,” he said. Iurie Leanca ranks fourth, down one spot. He is followed by Dorin Chirtoaca, Alexandru Tanase, Mihai Ghimpu, Mihai Godea, Valeriu Lazar, and Igor Dodon. Anatol Taranu said Mihai Ghimpu’s position oscillates between the fifth and eighth places. “MP Mihai Ghimpu does not hold an administrative post and this disadvantages him compared with his main political partners or opponents Vlad Filat, Marian Lupu and Vladimir Voronin. Nevertheless, his position is honorable and steady,” he stated. Two new politicians entered the list of the most influential politicians – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar, and Communist lawmaker Igor Dodon. Lazar appeared in the rankings owing to the economic policies promoted by the Government and the dispute between him and the Premier. Dodon was again fielded for mayor of Chisinau and this gave him weight, Anatol Taranu said. Dumitru Diacov fell to the 11th spot from the tenth. Vladimir Plahotiuc changed the eighth position for the 13th. “Vlad Plahotniuc is a newcomer in the Moldovan politics and his image is rather fragile. The scandals involving him ended and this thing negatively affected his image,” said the head of “Politicon”. Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Valentina Buliga did a remarkable jump. She climbed from the 33rd place to the 15th. “Former Premier Ion Sturza continues to have a good position in the rankings even if he does not hold a political post at the moment,” said Anatol Taranu. According to him, Oazu Nantoi advanced to the 21st position owing to his presence in the media. Minister of Youth and Sport Ion Cebanu jumped from the 77th position to the 49th. Veaceslav Ionita climbed from the 24th spot to the 14th, while Victor Bodiu fell from the 17th place to the 23rd. Iurie Muntean moved up to the 22nd spot from the 38th. The 50 politicians were selected out of 100 participants. The list is updated every month. The last ten persons who score the lowest number of points are replaced. The rankings of 100 top politicians include Anatol Stati, Oleg Cernei, Dan Dragutanu, Violeta Ivanov, Artur Reshetnikov, Victor Soltan, and Oleg Voronin.