2010-04-28

The withdrawal of the speaker of parliament, the acting president of Moldova, Mihai Ghimpu, from participation in the Moscow commemorations of the 65th anniversary of the victory in World War II has revealed a great divide within the ruling coalition when it comes to forming relations with Russia. This decision also proves that the coalition parties are beginning to focus themselves more on the challenge of the forthcoming parliamentary elections than the requirements of coalition solidarity.

According to the findings made during the CIS summit in Chisinau in autumn 2009, the Moldovan delegation with Mihai Ghimpu was supposed to attend celebrations in Moscow. In March, a discussion arose in Moldova regarding the invitation sent by the Russian authorities to the Moldovan military to participate in the parade. The Ministry of Defence of Moldova (staffed by the Liberal Party (PL) of Mihai Ghimpu) announced that the military would not go to the parade due to a lack of money and time for training soldiers. The decision was endorsed by groups associated with PL. It was, however, attacked by the opposition communist party of the former president Vladimir Voronin. The prime minister, the leader of Liberal Democratic Party (LDPM) Vladimir Filat and the president of the Democratic Party (PD), Marian Lupu, also supported the participation of the Moldovan unit in the parade. Ultimately, the ruling coalition decided on the participation of Moldovan military in the parade. In response Ghimpu announced that he was withdrawing from participation in the ceremonies.
The differing positions of the coalition parties results from their doctrinal differences as well as pre-election scheming (elections will probably be held in autumn this year or spring 2011). PL is striving to release Moldova from Russian influence and is fighting for the votes of the pro-Romanian electorate. LDPM is a pragmatic and pro-Western party, fighting for centrist voters, and is therefore seeking to avoid accusations of being anti-Russian. By contrast, PD is trying to acquire the pro-Russian, communist and leftist electorate and supports a policy of balance between the pro-European and pro-Russian vectors of Moldovan foreign policy. The dispute over the participation in the Moscow commemorations shows that the issue of Moldova's geopolitical orientation is the main theme of the upcoming election campaign. <wrod>

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