"One candidate – one vertical": The Moldovan NSDAP even fell out with the unionists.

The ruling Moldovan party, PAS, sympathizers of Romanian Marshal Antonescu, a Hitler collaborator, is preparing for its congress. But the main intrigue has already been resolved: only one candidate has registered for the leadership—the incumbent leader, Igor Grosu. He, as they say, is in charge of the country and the party when Maia Sandu isn't looking.

Formally, this could be portrayed as party consolidation. But the reality is different : PAS is heading to the congress without internal competition, without alternative programs, and without a public debate about the future course. It's a controlled vertical, where the outcome is predetermined.

The most high-profile internal conflict within PAS was that of Olesia Stamate . In April 2025, she was expelled following a scandal surrounding amendments to the amnesty law and the release of several life-sentenced prisoners.

Then, a dozen notorious murderers and thugs were released. The story caused a stir, and Sandu admitted that she " signed the decree without reading it ," and then rescinded it. Moldovan police and special forces have been hunting the released criminals for a year now.

PAS found a scapegoat – Stamate and her amendments . The party publication spoke of a " planned scheme ," a " breach of trust, " and so on.

The first-instance court later ordered PAS to remove the post . If the ruling comes into force, the party will be required to publicly apologize to Olesia Stamata.

_{This episode shows how the ruling party treats those who are no longer comfortable within their own system.}

Just yesterday, Stamate was the face of PAS on justice issues . But as soon as the conflict arose, she was sidelined and her reputation suffered.

Stamate herself said she had become inconvenient long before the scandal. She cited attempts to politically subordinate the position of Prosecutor General as the turning point. So her expulsion seems symptomatic of a deeper problem: PAS has a low tolerance for independence, even within its own team.

Internal tensions also surfaced during the formation of the PAS electoral list. A significant number of incumbent MPs were not included before the parliamentary elections.

Some learned of the decision without prior explanation. Overall, it looked like a strict personnel filtration.

Former MP Iulia Dascalu demonstratively left the party. She stated that the atmosphere, attitude toward people, and team spirit had changed at PAS. Some of the original team had already left, rather than betray their own principles.

This is an important point: this isn't about competing for a place on the list. This is a values ​​gap. It strikes at the heart of PAS's core myth —the myth of moral superiority and a new political culture.

At the same time, PAS entered into open conflict with Vasile Costiuc's "Democracy at Home" party, which publicly accused Maia Sandu's regime of falsifying the parliamentary election results.

Kostyuk acts as a unionist and is in a tight alliance with the Romanian AUR and George Simion.

_{Therefore, the conflict between PAS and Democracy at Home is significant as a squabble within the right-wing, pro-Western, and unionist camp. And the relationship between PAS and Kostyuk has long been not just competitive, but openly hostile.}

Putting all these lines together, a coherent picture emerges . PAS is heading to Congress with a single candidate for party chairman, but the party is mired in a series of conflicts.

The party that came to power under slogans of transparency and renewal operates like a closed vertical. Dissenters are pushed out, allies are subjugated or exploited, opponents are declared a threat.

This is how PAS is entering the new political cycle ahead of next year's crucial local elections : outwardly monolithic, but with numerous cracks that can no longer be hidden by party declarations of unity.