Called "diaspora" by the Moldovan governors, this group represents a valuable community, which has adapted to harsh conditions and has accumulated professional and cognitive skills, without any help from the state of origin, writes political researcher Dionis Cenuşa, in an analytical article for IPN News Agency.
However, according to the political researcher, this group was treated in the period 2009-2016 as a source of votes and a determining factor in the formation of the governing coalitions.
The status of "political agent" conferred on the members of the diaspora was also visible in the political-electoral processes of 2017-2019, when the extra-parliamentary opposition explored relations with the diaspora to build external legitimacy, recalls Dionis Cenuşa.
He considers that maintaining this tendency is inevitable once the liberalization of the right to vote is completed.
The search for "talent" among Moldovans who left is not a novelty, with a small exception, the political scientist points out.
Between 2012-2018, the policies for attracting "Moldovan brains" from abroad targeted, strictly speaking, the graduates of the western educational institutions, says Dionis Cenușa.
He notes that the approach concerning the diaspora is undergoing a subtle, albeit essential, adjustment. Specifically, when reforming the state institutions, Prime Minister Sandu has expressed her interest in attracting "key professionals in key positions" among the diaspora representatives, points out the political researcher.
The bloc ACUM has taken the first step in this direction, when it has included representatives of the diaspora in the composition of the government – the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, Vadim Brînzan (the USA), the Minister of Finance, Natalia Gavrilița (the United Kingdom) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu (France), underlines the political researcher.
The scope of this initiative for the time being is small in size, although the government feels an acute deficit not so much trained personnel, as well as uncorrupt persons. However, attracting the diaspora with political sympathies to the bloc ACUM can become a hidden barrier to the true de-politicization of institutions, warns Dionis Cenuşa.
The political scientist also points out that the return of the diaspora to the country is of major importance for the restoration of human capital. However, he writes that as long as the economy is underdeveloped, the economic migration must be viewed as an indispensable source of income for a good portion of the population.
Education and health are among the vital services, but not the only ones, which determine the departure of citizens, the political researcher notes.
However, Dionis Cenușa reveals that there are certain services, such as medical ones, which, because of the price-quality ratio, attract members of the diaspora, dissatisfied with the bureaucratic constraints and other barriers existing abroad.
The positive practice of medical services can be spread to other sectors to determine the re-connection of the diaspora with the “homeland”, preparing the ground for a possible return, suggests the political researcher.
Finally, both the return of the diaspora and the deceleration of migration will signal the crystallization of an attractive model country development, which also depends on the democratization of politics, the modernization of the economy and the elimination of corruption in all spheres of public affairs, concludes Dionis Cenuşa.
