Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CHISINAU711
2008-07-03 09:50:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Chisinau
Cable title:  

CHISINAU CITY COUNCIL SHIFTS FROM OPPOSITION TO COMMUNIST

Tags:  PGOV PINR MD 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9068
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHCH #0711 1850950
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030950Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY CHISINAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6858
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHSK/AMEMBASSY MINSK 0756
UNCLAS CHISINAU 000711 

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR MD
SUBJECT: CHISINAU CITY COUNCIL SHIFTS FROM OPPOSITION TO COMMUNIST
CONTROL

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please Protect Accordingly.

UNCLAS CHISINAU 000711

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR MD
SUBJECT: CHISINAU CITY COUNCIL SHIFTS FROM OPPOSITION TO COMMUNIST
CONTROL

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please Protect Accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: One year after the Liberal Party won Chisinau's
mayoralty and made its president Chairman of the Chisinau Municipal
Council, the Party of Communists (PCRM) has created a new alliance
within the council that has deposed the former chairman and
installed a new chairman in his place. Thus, despite losing the
June 2007 local elections in Chisinau, the PCRM now controls the
majority in the Municipal Council. End summary.

Municipal Council Chairman Ghimpu Replaced by Musuc
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) One year after the landslide victory that swept the Liberal
Party's young reform-minded candidate Dorin Chirtoaca into power as
mayor of Chisinau, the Chisinau Municipal Council has come under the
control of anti-Chirtoaca forces. By winning the support of Edward
Musuc's Social Democratic party and several non-affiliated deputies,
the Party of Communists was able to form a new majority in the
council. This new coalition (which also includes Iurie Rosca's
Christian Democrats) voted on June 6 to elect Musuc to replace Mihai
Ghimpu (the Mayor's uncle) as council chairman. Though Ghimpu and
his supporters disputed the results for two weeks, by June 26 Musuc
succeeded in chairing a council meeting.

Fragile Coalition Yields to New Majority
--------------


3. (SBU) Following the June 2007 local elections, the position of
Chairman of Chisinau Municipal Council was the subject of long
dispute. After four months of ineffectual squabbling and three
failed votes, on October 11, 2007, the Chisinau Municipal Council
finally managed to elect Mihai Ghimpu as Council head by a narrow
majority of 27 of the 51 council votes. Under Ghimpu's leadership
the Municipal Council was confronted by numerous challenges that
could barely be resolved by the unstable governing coalition that
lacked PCRM backing.


4. (SBU) Over the course of Ghimpu's tenure, Musuc and several other
deputies had repeatedly expressed their unhappiness with Ghimpu's
chairmanship. On June 6, a proposal to elect Musuc as chairman
passed with support from 28 out of 51 councilmen. The new ruling
majority that supported Musuc included the PCRM, Iurie Rosca's
Christian Democrats, Braghis and Musuc's Social Democrat Party and
several non-affiliated councilmen. Though Ghimpu's supporters at
first refused to recognize Musuc's leadership during a two-week
standoff, the Liberal-led coalition eventually recognized its
defeat. President Voronin met with Musuc on June 23.


5. (SBU) On June 26 Musuc chaired a meeting of the Chisinau
Municipal Council. This chaotic session was filled with mutual
accusations. Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca refused to take his normal place
next to the chairman and instead stood in the back. Though Ghimpu
and his supporters were not pleased, Ghimpu sat with the other
councilmen, and Musuc chaired from the podium during the contentious
session. Though Musuc was formerly an ardent anti-Communist, who
had been imprisoned by law-enforcement authorities for 47 days on
charges of financial impropriety, he appears to have been won over
to the PCRM coalition by promises of power and influence.

Comment
--------------


6. (SBU) The latest developments in the Chisinau administration
point to a new strategy for turning defeat into victory through the
creation of new post-election alliances. We are also witnessing
some regroupings in local administrations (raions). A year after
the Communists similarly lost power in two-thirds of Moldova's
raions, the fragile patchwork of unstable anti-Communist coalitions
is eroding in some of these districts. In several raions, there
have now been changes in chairman or deputy chairman of the raion
council as part of a regrouping process.


7. (SBU) Looking towards 2009, the polls show that the PCRM is
unlikely to obtain sufficient seats to elect the President on its
own. At the same time, opposition parties are also too weak and
dispersed to win a clean majority. In the months leading up to the
2009 parliamentary elections, we expect the PCRM will increase
pressure to break down non-Communist coalitions at the local level,
thus gaining additional administrative leverage and further
discrediting the opposition. Similarly, in 2009 we can expect that
the PCRM will seek post-electoral allies to form a majority
coalition in the parliament. End comment.