According to itypeusa, Moldova is a parliamentary republic, independent from the Soviet Union since 1991. The history of the creation of the Moldovan state is complex: between 1918 and 1940, Bessarabia, that is the region of the country today under the effective control of the government, was taken from Russia and annexed to Romania. The Soviet invasion in 1940 led to the creation of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Rss), which was also given jurisdiction over present-day Transnistria. In August 1989, the RSS of Moldova began the path that would lead it to independence: it adopted the Latin alphabet and replaced the official language, Russian, with Romanian (later officially renamed ‘Moldavian’). It was during the August 1991 coup attempt in the former USSR that Moldova exploited the instability created in Moscow to declare itself independent. In the transition phase, the Moldovan People’s Front, the Christian Democrat party in favor of annexation to Romania, assumed an important role. The strong nationalism and the pro-Romanian unionist currents aroused the reactions of the Russian-speaking separatists of Transnistria, which resulted in a real civil war (March-July 1992). Following the Moldovan defeat, Transnistria has become a de facto independent entity even if not recognized by any member of the United Nations. The Transnistrian question deeply affects diplomatic relations with Russia. Although Moldova is an integral part of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), its relations with Moscow are generally strained, precisely due to Russian involvement in the frozen crisis. On the one hand, the worsening of the crisis in Ukraine – which has rekindled secessionist sentiments in Transnistria and Gagauzia (autonomous Turkish-speaking region with a Russian majority) – on the other, the signing of the DcFta (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area), which took place in Vilnius on the occasion of the third Eastern Partnership Summit on 29 November 2013 and an integral part of an association agreement with the European Union, signed on 27 June 2014, they have partly had heavy repercussions in relations between Chișinău and Moscow. Already since the end of 2013, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dimitri Rogozin had threatened trade retaliation (cuts in gas and food supplies) and the opening of consulates in Transnistria, as well as a tightening of the Russian position on the resolution of the status of the territory. Moscow can exercise important economic levers towards Moldova, given Chișinău’s dependence on Russian energy and commercial supplies, the latter capable of influencing the Moldovan political course. Relations with Romania are equally strategic. Mutual relations are cordial, but in Moldova strong tensions are resisting between the annexationists, in favor of unification with Romania, and the separatists.
On the domestic front, the country has been constantly affected by the weight that the Moldovan Communist Party (PCRM), historically linked by ideological affinities with Moscow, has continued to exert on the country’s political life. The Agrarian Party, in power between 1992 and 1997, was controlled by former Communists who moved to liberal positions. Since 1998, the PCRM itself has become the first Moldovan party. Once in power, he slowly changed his positions and today he no longer places excessive emphasis on returning to the nationalization and collectivization of the economy, on the contrary he is in favor of an eventual entry into the EU. Although the PCRM remains the first party in the country, the results of the early elections in July 2009 led the pro-Western coalition Alliance for European Integration (Aei) to lead the government. confirmed itself at the head of the country also in the subsequent parliamentary consultations of November 2010. However, the recent corruption scandals and the continuous clashes between the leaders of the Aei parties have produced a government crisis (5 March) which was resolved on 30 May with the appointment of the Deputy Prime Minister Iurie Leancă of the Liberal Democratic Party (Pldm) at the helm of the new executive. On 22 April the Constitutional Court had invalidated the decree by which Vlad Filat (Pldm), outgoing premier accused of corruption and resigned after a motion of no confidence in parliament, was appointed as head of the government.
In 2000, a constitutional reform changed the country’s form of government, changing it from a presidential to a parliamentary system. The parliament is made up of 101 members, in office for four years. The president is elected every four years by a qualified parliamentary majority. Its powers include the appointment of the prime minister, who, however, must obtain the consent of the absolute majority of the National Assembly. Creating the largest possible majorities in parliament is, among other things, necessary to prevent dangerous institutional crises, such as the one that left the country without a head of state from June 2009 to March 2012, due to crossed political vetoes. Thus, after the presidential mandate held ad interim by the outgoing Marian Lupu, in March 2012 the impasse with the election of Nicolae Timofti, magistrate and independent figure who contributed with his mandate to the normalization of national political life and the opening of international relations with the EU.
In this moment of political tension aggravated by the Ukrainian question, the parliamentary elections of November 30 represented an important moment. Despite the three pro-European parties – the Pldm, the Moldovan Democratic Party (Pdm) and the Liberal Party (Pl) – overall obtained 45.1% of the votes, the pro-Russian formations (the Moldovan Socialist Party and the Pcrm) saw a significant success, reaching a total of 38.8% of the votes and establishing themselves respectively as the first and third parliamentary forces. A situation of substantial political and institutional uncertainty which was also reflected in the formation of the new executive.
