You got to love the balls on this guy. Pavel Filip, after becoming the new Prime Minister of Moldova in a secret ceremony held at midnight, just told the BBC that he refuses to do the right thing and step down:

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Filip acknowledged that the political class had a last chance to restore trust. But he warned he would crack down on any violent protests. More than 20,000 people demonstrated in the capital, Chisinau on Sunday. They object to Mr Filip’s links to powerful oligarchs. In his first interview with international media, Mr Filip told the BBC’s David Stern that his stepping down could harm the country. “Any action from the protesters that could be considered a violation of the law will be punished,” he said.

Harm the country? Violent protests? What a joke. I’ve seen the protesters here in town and they’re ordinary people sick and tired of the way Filip and his fellow oligarchs are running the place. That’s why Filip has to hide inside the Parliament behind a wall of cops.

And just in case your lizard brain thinks the protesters are all Russians, or paid stooges of the evil Russian government, here’s proof otherwise:

“The mood of people here is very serious — they are determined in their intentions,” said Stanislav Pavlovschi, a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights and a founder of the Dignity and Truth Platform, a pro-European political movement.
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Demonstrations in September drew more than 40,000 people, numbers rarely seen since the country gained independence in 1991. A protest site of around 300 tents, reminiscent of the protests in Independence Square in Kiev, sprang up outside the main government building, with Dignity and Truth taking the lead.

I’ve seen these Dignity and Truth (DA is their Romanian acronym) guys several times, and they’re all talking in Romanian and are in no way “pro-Russian”. They’re supported by several organizations of retired Moldovan soldiers, as well as a wide coalition of groups that have absolutely no ties with Russia.

So why is Filip so determined to hang onto power? Ahh…

Disgust with the country’s political establishment appears to be running high. In a recent poll conducted by the Association of Sociologists and Demographers of Moldova, almost half the respondents said they did not trust any of the country’s leaders. The poll’s results suggested that if a new election were held now, three of the five parties in Parliament would lose all their seats.

Which is why Filip is in Romania today to beg for all the help he can get to keep his worthless job.

In related news, Filip’s junta is no longer satisfied with banning new journalists from coming to Chisinau to cover the protests and is now deporting journalists:

Moldova has ejected at least ten journalists over the past week alone, including RIA Novosti correspondent Timur Khursandov and an AFP (Agence France Presse) stringer, amid protests against the country’s pro-European Union government. Moldova’s government has pursued a policy of controlling the information which leaves the country by preventing foreign correspondents from both Russia and EU countries from entering the country.

Idiocy.

Meanwhile over in Romania, the flow of patronizing bullshit advice continues apace. Here’s Bogdan Aurescu, the recent Foreign Minister, recommending (in Romanian) that Moldova get its own CVM in order to implement “reforms”. Yeah, that’s been working out really well for Romania, eh? LOL

But of course every Romanian politician has to weigh in on the situation in RM, as if people here in Moldova were waiting for their masters in Bucharest to save them. Here’s Basescu from a TV interview last night (my translation):

“I proposed the [legal] union with Romania to every single Moldovan president [during my time in office]. The Republic of Moldova has two options: either join the EU, which would cost a lot and not come with any guarantees, or unite with Romania,” said Traian Basescu.

Here’s a third variant – let Moldova be a neutral, independent country. Shocker!

Not wanting to be left out of all the fun, Victor Ponta had something to say (in Romanian) as well.

My translation:

“From my point of view, and I’m very well informed about the situation in the Republic of Moldova, there are two options. The first is to form a government that is composed of pro-European, pro-Romanian politicians, the same people I worked with when I was the Prime Minister. The second option is that of [pro-Russian “Our Party” leader Renato] Usatii and [Socialist Party leader Igor] Dodon, men who have officially declared that they represent Russian interests.

Here’s a third option – go fuck yourself OR go fuck yourself.

It is incredibly patronizing to imply that Igor Dodon is somehow in politics solely to do what Russia wants. Do the Socialists believe that closer economic ties to Russia would benefit Moldova? Yes, they do. So do a lot of Moldovans, which is why the Socialists are the largest party in Parliament right now. Dodon was born and raised in RM and has already served as both a cabinet minister AND as the deputy PM. I’m not saying he’s a saint but he’s hardly some “technocrat” stooge like Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos or Ion Sturza.

Renato Usatii is another story, as his party was banned literally the day before elections were held after the Electoral Commission voted in a secret decision that his “Our Party” party had violated some form of campaign finance law. Today, Usatii is the mayor of Balti (second largest city in RM) and is a pretty popular guy. He’s more Donald Trump than professional politician though.

Well, it’s all been a lot of fun, but this farce will end on Monday. I, for one, am looking forward to a Moldovan government which isn’t being run by remote control by morons in Bucharest.