“If we have a referendumĀ IĀ wouldĀ vote for the unification with Romania. Look at what’s happening around Moldova today. Look at what’s happening in the world,” Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in an interview with British podcast, The Rest is Politics, on January 11. “It is getting more and more difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign country, and of course to resist Russia,” she added.
Though the podcast was over an hour long, it was this statement that really caused a stir.
During the same podcast, Sandu admitted that she was aware that a majority of Moldovans do not support unification with Romania according to pollsĀ and that this was why the most realistic alternative was Moldova’s accession to the European Union. This isĀ supported by voters and is being actively pursued by the government in Chisinau.
Opposition politicians accuse president of treason
Igor Dodon, the leader of Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, the country’s largest opposition force, and a former president of the country, immediately criticized Sandu’s statement. He accused the current president of dreaming of becoming the leader of a new Romanian state, arguing that she was led by selfish thoughts about her own future.
On January 13, the party issued a statement demanding Sandu’s immediate resignation saying that each day of her presidency was “a threat to the existence of the Republic of Moldova as an independent state.” It also called on the prosecutor general and the intelligence services “to immediately initiate an investigation into possible treason.” It appealed to all “patriotic forces” to set aside “tactical differences and unite against the Maia Sandu regime.”
The country’s Communist Party, which is increasingly unpopular, made similar comments, describing the Moldovan president’s statement as an “act of treason” and a “gross violation of the presidential oath of office.”
‘Saviors of Moldovan independence and identity’
“Parties in crisis are clinging to the idea of being the last saviors of Moldovan independence and identity,” said Andrei Curararu, a security expert at the Moldovan think tank WatchDog, pointing out that Sandu had actually consistently expressed similar views since 2016.
He recalled that in 1918, immediately after the proclamation of the People’s Republic of Moldova, the Sfatul Tarii,Ā a historic legislative bodyĀ in Moldova, had voted in favor of the territory joining Romania. It then remained part of Romania until 1940 when it was annexed by the Soviet Union. He said that the issue of unification with Romania had been a constant topic of public debate in Moldova since its independence in 1991 in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Most citizens of MoldovaĀ speak Romanian, which is identical to Moldovan as a spoken language. However, Moldovans use the Cyrillic alphabet to write whereas Romanians use Latin script.
Curararu pointed out that approval ratings for unification with Romania tended to fluctuate depending on the political context and military threatsĀ but had never fallen below 30%. “Maia Sandu’s statement is a foreign policy message to make Moscow understand what scenario could be implemented in the event of a military invasion,” he explained.
Pressure from multiple crises
Surveys conducted last summer by iData and IMAS, Moldova’s leading public opinion research institutes, showed that about one-third of Moldovans wereĀ in favor of unification with Romania.
Vitalie Andrievschi, a political scientist based in Chisinau, noted that Sandu’s statement had been carefully worded and the unexpected stir could be interpreted as a political and psychological sign of “exhaustion bordering on burnout.” He said that her presidency had been marked by a quick succession of crises ā€” from the COVID-19 pandemic and systematic pressure from Russia to the Ā war in Ukraine.
Moreover, Sandu, who has the highest approval rating of any politician in the country, bore most of the responsibility, he said, with members of her team often avoiding taking decisions, which meant that the president often had to intervene personally.
“If the Russian army had advanced to Moldova’s borders, over 70% of Moldovans would have voted for unification with Romania out of pure survival instinct. The crucial question, however, is whether Bucharest is prepared to do so,” Andrievschi said. Though not usually discussed publicly the question is of central importance, he said, as it affects pensions, salariesĀ and investments, as well as crisis zones such as Gagauzia and Transnistria.
Andrievschi added that Moldova currently had weak institutions, a vulnerable economyĀ and territorial problems. Reforms were also necessary. The European Union was providing important support in this regard, Andrievschi said.
For him, Sandu’s statement was not an actual call for unification with Romania but a warning signĀ that the state is overburdened and its leaders are reaching their limits, having been in survival mode for far too long.
This article was originally published in Russian.