A Hated Oligarch is Romania’s Last Hope

Moldova is rapidly heading towards the precipice: Moldova’s president on Wednesday rejected a proposal to nominate an influential politician and businessman to become the next prime minister, saying there were doubts about his integrity. But President Nicolae Timofti said there were reasonable suspicions about Plahotniuc’s integrity and said he would not nominate him for the job. He told the pro-European coalition to pick another candidate … Continue reading A Hated Oligarch is Romania’s Last Hope

Loan Shark

Word Count: 657 Brief background in case you’re just joining us: The Republic of Moldova (where I live) is a divided country, where some people speak Romanian at home and some people speak Russian. Likewise, politics are divided, with some groups wanting to join the European Union, and some groups wanting closer ties with Russia (and its Customs Union, similar to the EU). And so, … Continue reading Loan Shark

Wunderbar!

Well it isn’t completely official but the results are clear – Victor Ponta was not elected yesterday as Romania’s new president. Normally, of course, people report the winner and would say Iohannis Klaus won the election and will soon become Romania’s fifth post-Revolution president. But this was not an election about Herr Klaus. The voting yesterday was strictly between those who supported Ponta and those … Continue reading Wunderbar!