Category: Moldova – Republic of

Moldova - Republic of, Politics

The Chisinau Mayoral Election, Part 2

Advisory warning: What follows is an extremely tedious and detailed analysis of the recent mayoral elections in Chisinau, the conclusion of which is that I stand by my initial findings. This past week, the European Union decided to freeze a 100 million euro aid package to Moldova specifically because of the Chisinau mayoral race: Disbursements under the Macro-Financial Assistance program hinge on the successful implementation … Continue reading The Chisinau Mayoral Election, Part 2

Unknown's avatarSam Cel Roman5 Comments
Moldova - Republic of, Politics

The Curious Case of the Chisinau Mayoral Race

On May 20, 2018, voters in Chisinau headed to the polls for the first round of what was a very low-key and boring election. Since 2007, Chisinau has been run like a personal fiefdom by Dorin Chirtoaca, a close personal friend of former Romanian President Traian Basescu. Chirtoaca was re-elected in 2015 and should still be in office today except that he was arrested in … Continue reading The Curious Case of the Chisinau Mayoral Race

Unknown's avatarSam Cel Roman4 Comments
Moldova - Republic of, Politics

The Man Behind the Curtain Speaks

Although he normally toils away in obscurity, speaking only to his minions and the foreign governments that prop up his regime, Vladimir Plahotnyuk took the opportunity last week to speak to the press. The reason? Well, 2018 is a mandatory election year for parliament. Although people have been protesting (especially in the winter of 2016/17) for early elections, Plahotnyuk and his allies have (wisely) deferred … Continue reading The Man Behind the Curtain Speaks

Unknown's avatarSam Cel RomanLeave a comment
Moldova - Republic of, Money, probability and predicting the future, Politics

I Can Now Predict the Future (in Moldova)

Over the weekend, I picked up this tiny little story (in Romanian) about an interview with Andrian Candu, the speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, that was printed in Latvijas Avize (in Latvian). I assume that the original interview was in Russian, but since it was printed in Latvian, I had to rely on the internet to translate it for me. At first, the interview seemed … Continue reading I Can Now Predict the Future (in Moldova)

Unknown's avatarSam Cel Roman1 Comment
Vlad Plahotniuc leers
Guns Are Fun, Marketing, Advertising and Propaganda, Moldova - Republic of

RIP, Democracy in Moldova

Well, today was a very sad and tragic day for the people of the Republic of Moldova, as now this country is officially a regime: A government, especially an authoritarian one. On paper, RM is a democracy, complete with elections, a parliament, and a head of state. But in reality, a single mob boss controls everything in this country. And the only reason he’s allowed … Continue reading RIP, Democracy in Moldova

Unknown's avatarSam Cel Roman6 Comments