Veronica Bacalu, who was proposed by the PLDM and PDM for the presidency, took the 12th position in the February rankings of Top 50 most influential politicians. Prime Minister Vlad Filat continues to head the rankings compiled by the Political Consultancy and Strategic Researches Center “Politicon”, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Politicon” head Anatol Taranu told a news conference that Veronica Bacalu will remain in the rankings if she is fielded officially as a presidential candidate. “If this does not happen, it is highly probable that she will disappear from the list,” he stated. Potential candidate for the presidency Ion Ababii was ranked 51st. The second spot in the rankings is taken by Marian Lupu. In the January rankings he was the fourth. According to Anatol Taranu, this progress is due to the fact that in February he was rather active in the process of identifying candidates for President. Another reason is that a PLDM-PDM bloc was created within the ruling alliance and the PL remained outside it. Dorin Chirtoaca ranked third. He is one of the leaders of the Liberal Party and the fact that he keeps this position shows he is a politician with prospects, said the head of “Politicon”. The chairman of the Liberal Party Mihai Ghimpu climbed from the fifth to the fourth spot, surpassing Vladimir Voronin, who was placed fifth. Anatol Taranu said that the fifth position is good, but less favorable for Vladimir Voronin, who usually ranked higher. “The protests staged by the PCRM did not ensure a better score for him. The experts do no eulogize these protests as high as the Communists,” he stated. The sixth position is taken by Igor Dodon. Vladimir Plahotniuc ranked seventh. According to Taranu, he returned to the rankings owing to the bill on the election of the President by uninominal vote he put forward. Iurie Leanca comes eighth, Dumitru Diacov ninth, while Valeriu Strelet tenth. Anatol Taranu anticipated that the upper part of the rankings may change significantly if the candidate for the presidency is officially announced this month. The rankings of Top 50 most influential politicians are compiled with the assistance of 32 experts who give grades to the politicians depending on their influence on the major political decisions taken in the country, popularity, visibility in the mass media, and political prospects.