In a debate on Moldova 1 channel, held towards the end of the election campaign, the candidates for the office of President Igor Dodon and Maia Sandu continued to prefer accusations to arguments, say the authors of a new article produced within the Sic! project. The discussion stagnated again around the values and ideological preferences of the two: Romania or Russia, who and how goes to church or who is more patriotic. The mutual accusations about the previous work on the Cabinet and about being the acolytes of Plahotniuc were also there.
The authors chose some of the most important statements of the candidates in order to verify them. Igor Dodon said the EU goods invaded Moldova, but, in accordance with the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, both exports and imports from the EU decreased after the signing of the Association Agreement in 2014. In 2015, the country’s external trade saw a general decline.
The Sic! article says Igor Dodon’s assertion can be also assessed from another viewpoint. Even if he runs based on a protectionist platform, when he was minister of economy imports from the EU rose from US$1.218 billion in 2006 to US$2.1 billion in 2008, which is they almost doubled in two years. Simultaneously, imports from the CIS increased by US$716 million, from US$1.021 billion to US$1.737 billion. In conclusion, the assertion that the Moldovan internal market is or will be invaded by products from the EU is manipulating. Moreover, a sudden ‘invasion” was close to be witnessed namely when Igor Dodon led the Ministry of Economy.
As to Maia Sandu’s statement that when Dodon served as minister of economy, the gas prices rose three times, the Sic! authors say that strictly from the viewpoint of figures, Maia Sandu is right, but the suggestion that Igor Dodon is to blame for the rise in the price of gas is manipulating. “The gas prices started to increase in December 2005. Igor Dodon became deputy minister of economy in May 2005 and minister in 2006, when the agreement with Gazprom was already in place,” says the article.
Even if specifically this document envisioned the gradual rise in gas prices until 2011, Igor Dodon’s party mate Zinaida Grecheanyi when she was Prime Minister said that this was the optimal solution because the Russian authorities insisted on an ‘average European price’, accepting a phasing in over five years as a compromise. This way or another, Maia Sandu’s assertion is justified when Igor Dodon uses the good relations with Moscow as an electoral trump card. The rise in gas prices shows that when he was minister of economy, the Socialist candidate didn’t manage to obtain some major favors from Russia.
The authors of the article conclude that the challengers avoided again talking about concrete policies that they will pursue in different areas, with the Socialist candidate distorting the reality and facts more than his opponent. The full article can be read in Romanian on the website of the project sic.md. Sic! is a project of IPN News Agency implemented with the assistance of Soros Foundation Moldova.
