In the past few years, Chinese investments in Serbia have intensified, strengthening economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries. However, in addition to investing in production, new technologies, servicing old debts, some of these investments have brought with them harmful effects on the environment, but also a further collapse of the legal system and institutions.
The Republic of Moldova has been presented with a historic opportunity, after pro-European forces, represented by the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), have secured the Parliament, the Government and the Presidency. The post-Soviet period of transition may now be over, and the pro-European track, which has been in the limelight in Chișinău for three decades, may become irreversible.
Turkey is increasingly in favor of a two-Cypriot solution and is working to persuade other states to recognize Turkish Cyprus. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seems to have taken on the Cypriot cause in order to attract the nationalist electorate to his side in the run-up to the 2023 elections.
Donald Tusk returned to Poland. He's main goal is to take power from Kaczyński and the right-wing government of Law and Justice. How does he want to do it and what are his chances?
After winning the presidential elections, Maia Sandu has stabilized and secured the relations with the country’s closest neighbors - Romania and Ukraine. The legitimate question arises whether she has also managed to stabilize the complicated relationship between the Republic of Moldova and Russia, especially in the new context created by the recent parliamentary elections, won by the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), which she has founded.
After the warm summer, a hot autumn awaits the Czech Republic. Elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament are held at the beginning of October and they could change the political landscape in the country. The current political hegemon Andrej Babiš and his ANO movement could lose their position, traditional left-wing parties – communists and social democrats – may not make it to the upcoming Chamber of Deputies and there are some new political forces, such as a party led by former anti-mafia policemen, which is growing and promising "justice".
The study of hybrid impact tools and technologies for their application is now becoming a necessity for most European countries. It should be understood that their application lasts long enough to form the basis of the study, and the need for countermeasures will remain relevant for many years.
Not even the most optimistic supporters of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) were expecting a landslide victory in the early parliamentary election. PAS didn’t just face left-wing parties, represented by the Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists, but Russia itself, which tried to lend the latter a helping hand. Yet its victory is only the beginning: the real challenge for PAS lies ahead.
The alleged election fraud, including bribe-giving, was one of the hot topics in the Republic of Moldova on election day. While media outlets siding with pro-European parties revealed alleged cases of bribe reported on the left bank of the Dniester, the pro-Socialist press focused on offenses reported abroad. One the main “arguments” about influencing voters in the Diaspora was a short video filmed by a young girl queuing outside a polling station in Frankfurt, Germany. In the background one can hear a few people talking and laughing, mentioning 50 Euro. A large number of press institutions affiliated to the Socialists carried the piece of news, suggesting the video is evidence that voters got bribed. The person who shot the video subsequently said it was all a joke, and that the media made erroneous assumptions.
disinformation, manipulative stories and fake news continued to flood the media as usual. Maia Sandu, PAS and the West were again the favorite targets of disinformation and fake narratives. Fake news authors were pretty much unimaginative, as they have been over the course of the entire campaign, resorting to narratives they used before, both in the current campaign, as well as in previous ones: a victory for the right-wing would spell disaster for the country
Much like most other election campaigns in the Republic of Moldova, this summer’s campaign for the parliamentary election of July 11 was ridden with disputes which, at times, went way beyond the limits of common decency. We’ve seen controversial figures getting the spotlight, a great deal of disinformation, and we’ve had our fair share of extraordinary and laughable moments. Foreign policy was, once again, a major topic of debate. Less than 30 years since Moldova proclaimed its independence, it’s still unclear whether the country is headed West or East. Another recurring theme in this campaign was the fight against corruption, which has been discussed for years, without seemingly rooting out the weed of corruption that has spread to the point of nearly suffocating the whole country. Veridica has reviewed some of the topics, episodes and characters that grabbed the headlines during this election campaign.
Maia Sandu’s friend, Chancellor Angela Merkel, doesn’t want the Republic of Moldova to accede to the European Union, PSRM-linked media claims, saying that the meeting between the German Chancellor and leaders of states in the Western Balkans is evidence that Moldova doesn’t have any chance of joining the European Union. However, Angela Merkel doesn’t make any reference to Moldova, and the news isn’t in any way tied to the Republic of Moldova. The narrative is aimed at weakening voters’ confidence in pro-European forces, especially in PAS and Maia Sandu, ahead of the parliamentary election of July 11.
Maia Sandu and PAS intend to give away Moldova’s natural resources to Western powers, allowing them to buy farmland at very low prices, sputnik.md writes, even though neither the president of the Republic of Moldova nor the party she founded have so far made any comments in this respect. The narrative is linked to the liberalization of the land market in Ukraine, a decision which was also the target of fake news disseminated by the Russian and pro-Russian media.
This Sunday Bulgaria is going through a new round of parliamentary elections, following the inconclusive ones from April which saw ruling party GERB lose votes and a Parliament dominated by opposition. The elections were called after no common ground was found between any of the parties in search of a coalition. The coming Parliament looks set to be as fragmented as the one that brought early elections. What will happen next is, thus, anyone’s guess. One thing seems sure though: long-serving former prime-minister Boyko Borissov will not return to power.
Maia Sandu and PAS get massive cash injections from the European People’s Party (EPP), while taking part in this external funding operation are number of national parties affiliated to the EPP, according to a New Europe article promoted by the Socialists and their media outlets. The article contains inaccurate data, provides zero evidence and also picks up on a number of false narratives promoted by Kremlin-linked press institutions, as well as by pro-Russian forces in Chișinău.
China’s global opening-up after Mao’s death and a partial adoption of capitalism have only apparently softened the communist regime in Beijing. Mao’s successors have regularly shown that they will not cede their tight grip on society and, if the system requires defending- or consolidating- they can be as ruthless as the “founding father”.
The West plans on using Moldova against Russia, and its citizens will become cannon fodder, says former president Igor Dodon in a wide interview for Ria Novosti. The Russian news agency basically provides Dodon with a platform for disinformation and spreading fake news, most of which have already been disseminated over the course of the election campaign, both by the local media affiliated to the Socialists, as well as by the pro-government Russian state media: the situation is out of control, the country’s president is responsible for the political crisis and the social and economic chaos, the West is interfering in the domestic affairs of Moldova and plans to rig the election, etc.
According to the media affiliated with the Socialists, 85% of the Action and Solidarity Party candidates in the early parliamentary elections are members of PLDM and the real head of the party is the former prime minister convicted of corruption, Vlad Filat, who is also guiding Maia Sandu. The source of this news is a statement by the communist Vladimir Voronin, who has recently returned to the forefront of politics. Only seven PAS candidates have previously competed on the PLDM lists, but former PLDM members can be found in over a third of the lists of candidates in general. This phenomenon of party-switching characterizes other parties as well. Even communists, for instance, are currently running on the lists of other parties, including some that have diametrically opposed political views.
The parliamentary election in the Republic of Moldova represents an important stake for Bucharest, for several reasons: its partnership with Chișinău, the existence of thousands of people with double citizenship, etc. Political and non-political actors have got involved in the election campaign which has entered its last week in the Republic of Moldova, considering this Sunday, on July 11, snap elections will take place. A brief overview of some of the latest developments paint a rather interesting picture of direct interests of the Romanian state, but also a number of special ones, more often than not in gray or outright black areas.
Veridica has debunked fake news about manipulating statistics in favor of Maia Sandu, her alleged links with fugitive oligarchs and her unrestricted use of the Intelligence and Security Service. All this while, we are told that non-governmental organizations (which Maia Sandu and PAS obviously work for) are on the brink of destroying the country, while the current “regime” – another reference to Maia Sandu, despite the fact that the president’s prerogatives are rather limited, and the country continues to be run by the Socialists and their allies – is ready to apply for NATO accession.
23 candidates are participating in the campaign for July 11th parliamentary elections, fighting for the 101 seats in the Chisinau Parliament. The problems facing the Republic of Moldova, such as poverty, corruption and the oscillation between East and West, are also reflected in the electoral messages used by the competing parties, and the central themes of the election campaign are the geopolitical vector of the Republic of Moldova and the fight against corruption.
The non-governmental organizations funded from the West are directly involved in the election campaign in the Republic of Moldova, according to an article published by Rubaltic.ru, which largely takes over the theories used in the presidential campaign by the Socialist Bogdan Țîrdea. The attack on civil society is in fact targeting the Action and Solidarity Party, the Socialists' main contender in the early parliamentary elections of 11 July.
The “regime” in Chisinau wants to have the Republic of Moldova join NATO and is ready to make “unfriendly” gestures towards Russia, according to a false narrative promoted by Sputnik. The starting point of the narrative was the participation of a single Moldovan army platoon in a multi-national exercise to which, in the past, Russia would also be invited.
In 2021, China says it has achieved the centennial goals announced by Xi when it took power nearly ten years ago: eradicating poverty; implementing a sovereign type of domesticated internet, used for social regimentation; the space program; strengthening the role of party offices in the economy, including in European multinationals; re-ideologizing education and consolidating a kind of nationalist Maoism; eliminating democracy in Hong Kong. The paradox is that the more triumphalist it becomes at home, reporting to the people one success after another, the less powerful the image of the state-party based in Beijing gets at global level.
Maia Sandu wants to eliminate electoral competition in favor of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), which she led before becoming president, according to a false narrative promoted by AUR and the pro-Russian forces in Chisinau. The promoters of the narrative knowingly ignore the political and administrative realities of the Republic of Moldova, in an attempt to undermine the party that stands as favorite in the polls.
Maia Sandu does not have any important achievements in the fight against corruption during the first 6 months of her term because, in fact, she does not want to fight the phenomenon. This false narrative is promoted by the Kremlin channel, Sputnik, which in the context of the election campaign in the Republic of Moldova tries to undermine the anti-corruption discourse and manipulates information by ignoring the principle of separation of powers.
The West seems ready to return to the international arena, after years of leaving the initiative of the autocratic powers - Russia, China, even an ally like Turkey, where the anti-democratic slips of the Erdogan regime are growing - and he himself was marked by the fracture brought about by the Trump administration's policies and, in the last year, by the pandemic crisis. The diplomatic tour of US President Joe Biden is a sign of this return, both American and Western in general. A greater firmness of the West does not exclude the willingness to communicate with the autocracies - but for the time being there is no question of a relaxation of relations.
Russia allegedly had a plan to influence the 2020 presidential elections in Moldova, but abandoned it when it came to light. An analysis of the current campaign suggests, though, that at least in part, ideas devised by the Russian secret services are still being put into practice.
Statistics on the number of Coronavirus infections are manipulated to serve the political interests of Maia Sandu, according to the Socialist MP Bogdan Țîrdea, one of the most active promoters of false narratives in Moldova. The statistics narrative is false too, and, just like the previous ones, has been amplified by several publications.
The Republic of Moldova is at a crossroads, politicians and analysts seeking to mobilize the electorate for the July parliamentary elections are saying. This is by no means the first “crossroads” in the country's electoral history: almost every time elections have taken place in the last 30 years, someone has described them as crucial to the country's future. No matter what Moldovans chose - whether they voted for those who promised to bring salvation or those about whom they were told would bring disaster - the country always took a step back and remained one of the most corrupt and probably the poorest country in Europe.
Moldova will be swallowed up by the West and used by it against the country that has so far guaranteed its security and economic prosperity, Russia, according to the Socialist leader, Igor Dodon. A declared pro-Russian, Dodon has launched several false narratives that have been taken as such and amplified in the Russian-speaking space by the pro-Kremlin agency Lenta.ru.
A Google search returns dozens of headlines in the press in the Republic of Moldova and Romania such as “the Republic of Moldova, at a crossroads”, starting 2009 and, especially, around the elections. Dozens of other similar headlines were probably written before 2009 as well, only they remained in the newsrooms’ archives, without being posted online. The point is that little has changed in the Republic of Moldova durig the past decade and just as little in the past two decades or in the 30 years since Independence. And every election is viewed by citizens not only with the hope that things will change, but also with the fear that if the “others” come, they will turn everything 180 degrees (or 380, as a former Speaker of Parliament once said).
