The Republic of Moldova faces a series of crises that affect the life of citizens and the legitimacy of the government, said political scientist Dionis Cenușa, an associate expert of the Eastern Europe Studies Center of Lithuania. According to him, the security, energy and food crises are the main problems experienced by the Republic of Moldova. The country manages to overcome the precarious situation in which it is now only due to the good relationship with the EU. This shows that the authorities are dependent on foreign support, IPN reports.
The expert noted that the Republic of Moldova is struck by internal and external crisis that make the situation in the country more difficult than in the 1990s. The war in Ukraine seriously affects Moldova’s economy and the situation can worsen further if Russia concentrates its troops in Odessa region.
“We have a string of crises that appeared before the start of the war. It goes to the effects of the pandemic and the situation in the energy sector. The energy crisis was generated and fueled by the Russian Federation’s policy towards the new authorities in Chisinau. Also, the Russian Federation’s aggression war on Ukraine created a series of new crises. We have the security crisis generated by the situation in the Transnistrian region in the eventuality Russia reaches Odessa region. We have a refugee crisis. We have over 50,000 refugees staying in our country and consuming substantial resources. Furthermore, we have a food security crisis that is a consequence of the war in Ukraine and of the weather effects, the drought that struck the Republic of Moldova,” Dionis Cenușă stated in a debate housed by IPN.
Moreover, according to IPN’s senior contributor, the crises experienced by the Republic of Moldova seriously affect the image of the PAS government and this is confirmed by the latest public opinion polls. The maintaining of close relations with the EU and the securing of European financial support are the government’s supreme accomplishments.
“We are witnessing a crisis of legitimacy of the government, of the authorities, even if the effects are late as regards the population’s reaction. On the other hand, polls do not lie. Even if many do not like them, polls show a tendency and the tendency is negative, to the detriment of the authorities. The crisis impacts primarily the political sympathies of the population. If the Republic of Moldova hadn’t been situated close to the European Union and hadn’t had such close relations with Brussels, it wouldn’t have overcome even a half of these crises,” stated Dionis Cenușă.
He noted the war in Ukraine will continue to affect Moldova’s economy, but this security crisis enables us to become an important regional player in the commercial relations. If Ukraine remains without access to the Black Sea or the access is limited, the Republic of Moldova will be very important for Ukraine, for the Ukrainian exports and in the commercial relations between Ukraine and the EU. “When dealing with all the crises, the government should ensure transparency, access to information and political dialog. National political dialog on the European integration is necessary,” stated the political scientist.
The public debate entitled “Candidate status in times of cumulative, internal and external crises” was the 256th installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
