Moldova’s foreign policy oscillates without pauses following President Igor Dodon’s initiatives aimed at pushing the country to the East. The geopolitical schism becomes a more conspicuous daily reality whose consequences are powerfully underestimated. The geopolitical ramifications generated by President Dodon and the Socialist opposition are exploited by the government coordinated by Democratic leader Vladimir Plahotniuc. Recent polls show yet that the geopolitical cleavages no longer offer the public support needed by the Democrats and Liberals to pass the election threshold of 6% in the 2018 legislative elections.
The President’s Eurasian inclinations (IPN, March 2017) do not affect the government’s dialogue with the European Union. The intense negotiation of the new association agenda for 2017-2019 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 2017), which redefines the objectives for the implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement with the European Union, is a clear indication. This shows that the relations with Brussels depend, first of all, on the quality of reforms implemented by the government, not on the geopolitical rhetoric of President Dodon. However, the President’s attempts to bifurcate the country’s foreign policy imply considerable risks to the country’s development in the medium and long terms. Among these is the discouragement of reforms and public servants involved in their implementation, disorientation of the potential investors and the more accentuated polarization of society according to geopolitical principles. (mai mult…)