In wake of a long period of political and economic instability, Moldova’s government has collapsed and its pro-EU prime minister has put down her resignation.
Table of Contents
The Moldovan Government Resigns
Natalia Gavrilita, the outgoing PM announced her resignation on Friday. In a statement made by her, she said that the country was struggling with “multiple crisis”.
Moldova, often considered to be Europe’s poorest country, faced the brunt of the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine, leading to inflationary conditions, energy shortage, refugee influx and rising threat of Russian aggression.
Gavrilita rose to power in August 2021, when President Sandu’s pro-European Party of Action & Solidarity (PAS) won a landslide parliamentary election, on an anti-corruption, pro-development and pro-European mandate. Needless to say, times have been tough for the now outgoing regime.
The Poly-Crisis Environment in the Country
It’s proximity to the current European war theatre, on account of it sharing a 1222 Kim border with Ukraine moulds much of its crisis environment, on account of facing the fallout of the invasion. Gavrilita in her final address clearly stated, that when her government was elected in 2021, no one expected it would have to manage “so many crisis caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine.”
In her statement, the outgoing Prime Minister presented an entire map of the crisis that envelops the country. She says, that her anti-corruption and pro-European mandate was challenged from the very beginning by coercive energy blackmail techniques, referring to Moscow’s attempt at keeping the Eastern European nations under its own shadows. She added,
“The bet of the enemies of our country was that we would act like previous governments, who gave up their energy interests, who betrayed the national interest in exchange for short-term benefits.”
As the conflict in Ukraine grew, Russia used the opportunity to reduce its gas supplies to Moldova – which is 100% dependant on Russia for gas. The energy crisis caused hyper-inflation and riled up public unrest.
The fallout of the war on eastern-European country was not just indirect and economic. In the earlier days of the war in Ukraine, there were speculations that the conflict itself can spill-over into the nation, or that Russia might invade it next. Moldova’s pro-EU stance was put at the centre for these speculations. As missiles from the war traversed Moldovan air-space, and debris were discovered within its territory – the threat continued to rise at the height of the Russian special operation.
Despite the government’s failure, the President Maia Sandu thanked Ms. Gavrilita for her “enormous sacrifice and efforts to lead the country in a time of so many crises.” She has already nominated the next prime minister – Dorin Recean, who served as her former defence adviser and also holds a pro-EU stance. Her nomination would only be finalised after the national parliament will vote to confirm it, next week.
Threat Of Russian Aggression
The concern of overall war spilling over to Moldova from the Ukrainian theatre has decreased over time, but as it pushes closer to becoming a member of the European Union, pressure has increased from Russia. Russia has tried to undermine the former Soviet state, and the EU’s influence over it for quite some time now – and tensions are heightened as it it is to dismiss any threats of Russian aggression, says experts.
Recently, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukrainian Intelligence sources suggest that Russia is planning to “destroy” Moldova. Moldovan intelligence later confirmed that they have also,
“…….identified subversive activities aimed at undermining the state of the Republic of Moldova, destabilising and violating public order.”
Tensions are also growing over in Transnistria, which is a breakaway territory under the occupation of pro-Russian separatists, that runs along Moldova’s long border with Ukraine. Around 1500 Russian troops are stationed here, and they are on standby to act, like they were around the Donbas region before the invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, accused the West of manipulating Moldova to turn against Russia. If our readers recall our coverage from the time before Russia invaded Ukraine, a similar narrative was spun as well.
Latest Update : Moldovan President Warns of Russian Agent Infiltration
