“Russia is weakened and will not be able to interfere”: Romania is urgently called upon to absorb Moldova
Having observed a catastrophic decline in the ratings of the pro-Western government and a rise in support for political forces advocating rapprochement with Russia, as reported by PolitNavigator , the unionists in Moldova – the political camp advocating for a speedy reunification with Romania – became overexcited.
A few days earlier, former Prime Minister Vlad Filat – the "father" of Moldova's association agreement with the EU, who was subsequently sentenced to seven years in prison for grand theft and released under an amnesty – wrote on social media that Moldova, in the midst of war and rising gas prices, was unable to purchase gas on Western markets, and that " it was time to seriously and pragmatically think about reunification with Romania ."
Following the publication of the IMAS survey, Romanian journalist Cristian Hritsuc painted a bleak picture of Moldova's prospects under Maia Sandu's rule on his blog . The country's economy is in complete disarray. People can't afford their utility bills, and the government lacks the funds to cover them. Only three countries—Romania, Germany, and France—have provided aid to Moldova, but even this assistance has proven insufficient. Maia Sandu and her Action and Solidarity party are rapidly losing popularity among the population. The fight against corruption, which enabled Sandu to win the election, has lost its appeal among the population and is now associated with political reprisals. As a result, pro-Russian forces could win the upcoming elections, which would mean Moldova's return to the "gray zone" (which includes all countries choosing an independent development path).
Christian Hritsuc calls for accepting the harsh truth: Moldova's chances of joining the European Union are extremely low . There's no hope for an improvement in living conditions, as evidenced by Austria's decision to block Romania and Bulgaria from joining the Schengen Area. The author believes that there will always be countries in Europe "playing the same game as Russia," and even if the Republic of Moldova met all the criteria for EU membership, if it quickly harmonized its legislation and modernized its institutions, it would still remain on the EU's doorstep.
According to Khritsuk, if the pro-European Action and Solidarity party does not want to follow the path of the Alliances for European Integration and cede the political stage to pro-Russian politicians, it has only one option: ask Bucharest for swift unification . The accompanying problems related to the resistance of the Russian-speaking minority, the Gagauz, and Transnistria are easily resolved, given that Russia will not be able to win the war and will be weakened in any case, Ukraine will remain a reliable shield for Moldova, and Transnistria is not inclined to fight and will fight for its survival.
Anatolie Țăranu, a prominent pro-Romanian figure and former Moldovan ambassador to Russia who has become a radical Russophobe, stated in a commentary for the portal Deschide.md that supporters of unification with Romania must make the most of the "favorable situation that has developed since February 24." While Maia Sandu and her party are not pure unionists (unification with Romania is not their primary goal), a unionist current is growing within the Action and Solidarity party itself. There are concerns in the West about a "Greater Romania," but if a referendum is held in Moldova, no one will resist it . Transnistria would then be relegated to the "waiting room," with the prospect of also joining Romania "until it matures" (the region's only gateway to the outside world is through Chisinau Airport, anyway).
Economist Veaceslav Ioniță, in a commentary for the same resource, speaks of "pragmatic unionism": raising pensions to Romanian levels would increase them by 3-5 times, while public sector salaries would increase by 2-3 times. This means that over 800,000 Moldovans would see their incomes at least triple, all at the expense of the Romanian budget. The expert believes that unification with Romania would remove trade barriers in the European market and increase public investment tenfold. This would benefit tens of thousands of people working in construction and other sectors. According to Ioniță, the fact that Unirea's supporters reach 30-40% indicates that Moldova has failed as an independent state.
Another author with a surname that sounds unpleasant in Russian, Adrian Popa, writes on the radical pro-Romanian portal Timpul.md about the high chances of success of the unionist referendum :
“Dodon is on the verge of prison, Voronin is on the verge of retirement, Shor is on the run, the pro-Russian mafia cannot stop the referendum on unification with Romania.”
The author claims that the majority of those who voted for Maia Sandu hold Romanian citizenship (this is true – many acquire it by legally working in EU countries). Adrian Popa asserts that all opinion polls ignore the views of the Moldovan diaspora in EU countries – the majority there will always be in favor of unification. Sandu and her government, according to the author, can easily win the referendum if it is accompanied by a high-quality propaganda campaign. Adrian Popa believes that organizing this referendum is urgent, as no left-wing party, if it comes to power, will allow such a referendum to be held.
Nikolai Kostyrkin, coordinator of the Organizing Committee of the International Union of Free Journalists, noted in a commentary for PolitNavigator that even if the majority of Moldovan citizens turn out for the referendum and say a decisive "No!" to the machinations of the enemies of Moldovan statehood, there is no guarantee that the ruling group will not rig the results in accordance with the new Electoral Code.
“If they are “burnt out” and they want to abdicate responsibility for their failure and entrust Moldova to Bucharest for the sake of their further comfortable life, these people will do anything up to completely replacing the ballots,” the journalist is sure.
According to Kostyrkin, the very idea of a referendum on depriving Moldova of its statehood is a criminally punishable act , as a call for the liquidation of the constitutional order of the Republic of Moldova:
“Any government that openly takes up this matter will become illegitimate. That is, any other community of citizens in this case will be able to declare themselves something like a provisional government and organize a coup d'etat if resources are available. And what’s remarkable is that in this coup she will be helped by the whole country, which hates the damned “yellow death” so much! If the West wants Moldova to completely get out of its control, let it prepare Uniru, let’s see what comes of it.”
Open calls for Maia Sandu to begin the procedure of unification with Romania indicate a crisis in the “European integration of Moldova” project itself. The idea of turning this former Soviet republic into something like Ukraine and the Baltic states is failing. Supporters of integrating Moldova into the anti-Russian bloc are grasping at the last straw: to make it part of a larger anti-Russian formation - Romania, which, along with Poland, claims to be the main organizer of the “Baltic-Black Sea Arc”. The implementation of the project can be stopped if we systematically interact with those European countries that categorically do not want the implementation of this chimera, primarily with Hungary.