Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHISINAU271
2009-04-03 15:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Chisinau
Cable title:  

WHY COMMUNISTS AND LIBERALS SHARE THE

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREL MD 
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RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHCH #0271/01 0931518
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031518Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY CHISINAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7836
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000271 

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL MD
SUBJECT: WHY COMMUNISTS AND LIBERALS SHARE THE
SAME SLOGANS IN MOLDOVA

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please Protect
Accordingly.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000271

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL MD
SUBJECT: WHY COMMUNISTS AND LIBERALS SHARE THE
SAME SLOGANS IN MOLDOVA

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please Protect
Accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: Domestic social problems have
been the main focus of campaign discussions. The
global economic crisis and its impact on the
Moldovan economy has proven a largely irrelevant
issue on the parties' electoral agenda. Since
almost all parties share the same position on
foreign policy and the Transnistria issue,
Moldova's foreign policy is not likely to change
course after the election. Change is promised by
all parties and is desired by Moldovan citizens.
End summary.

Political Parties Ignore Economic Crisis
--------------


2. (SBU) Opposition parties have centered their
2009 campaigns on two main messages Q the need to
rid the country of the ruling Party of Communists
and a focus on social issues. Understanding that
poverty and unemployment are key concerns, all
political parties have spoken in favor of an
improved standard of living. For the most part,
the opposition parties avoided the impact of the
global economic crisis on Moldova, instead
promising higher social standards for Moldovan
citizens in connection with the need to "overcome
the communist legacy." Only the Social Democrats
(who support small business owners) have proposed
a plan for dealing with the economy.


3. (SBU) The global economic crisis and its effect
on the vulnerable Moldovan economy has not been an
issue in this campaign. The PCRM has failed to
address deteriorating economic conditions by
looking the other way and claiming there is no
crisis. Given the serious (and global) nature of
the economic crisis, there is little a local
Moldovan opposition party could promise to do to
fix it.

Transnistrian Issue Overestimated by Observers
-------------- -


4. (SBU) Transnistrian reintegration has mostly
not been an issue in the political campaign.
Dumitru Braghis's Social Democratic Party
presented its Transnistria settlement plan on
March 20. The plan contained a proposal to
transfer Transnistria to Russia for 30 years.
(Note: Moldovans will likely not accept this
radical idea. End note.) The Communists have had
little success to report and most opposition
parties (except for the pro-Russian Centrist Union
led by former Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev) voted
for or supported the 2005 Law on the Basic
Principles of Transnistria's Special Legal Status
and have nothing better to propose. Furthermore,
there is no overwhelming support among the
electorate for a Transnistria settlement plan.
Surveys show that only three to eight percent of
Moldovans are interested in the issue. The
seventeenth anniversary on March 2 of the armed
conflict between Moldovan and Transnistrian forces
over Transnistria's secession went practically
unnoticed.

No Discord on Foreign Policy
--------------


5. (SBU) The competing political parties have not
proposed any new or distinct foreign policy
initiatives. With 74 percent of Moldovans in
favor of accession to the EU, even the pro-Russian
Centrist Union was forced to accept European
integration as a key priority, though they
balanced it by advocating a privileged
relationship with Russia and the CIS. Similarly,
parties on the rightQ Liberals, Liberal Democrats
and AMN Q prioritized EU integration but not at
the exclusion of developing ties to Russia. Only
two parties -- the Liberal Party and the European
Action Movement -- support NATO accession. They
have hidden this position behind the euphemism
"Euro-Atlantic integration" because of the
negative connotation that NATO membership carries.

CHISINAU 00000271 002 OF 002


Moldova's foreign policy is not likely to change
course as a result of the elections.

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


6. (SBU) Little has changed in the electoral
discourse of Moldovan political parties since the
1990s. The low standard of living and social
issues are priorities for voters. Anti-communism
(which has been around since Moldovan
independence) has taken on a less ideological bent
and now represents the fight for power between the
ruling party and the opposition. The need for
change is boiling up in society. Even the
Communists seem to be aware of this need, as their
slogan "Change for the better Q only with the
Communist Party!" sounds somewhat paradoxical for
a party that is also campaigning on the platform
of stability. Additionally, the Communist slogan
is identical to the Liberal Party's motto "Change
for the better Q only with the Liberal Party!"

CHAUDHRY