In the British podcast "The remainder is politics" the president of Moldova was asked about a script that in the region returns like a boomerang: 1 Romanian-Moldova state. The answer was amazingly clear. "If there was a referendum on unification with Romania now, I would definitely vote in favour," she declared.
At the same time, Maia Sandu admitted that society is not as decisive as she is. According to the poll quoted by Onet, only 33.4% of citizens support unification, 45.7% are against and 16.7 percent inactive have no opinion. As you can see, emotion, memory of past and fear of the future is simply a complex mix in Moldova, which cannot be disarmed by a single speech by the president.
Even so, Sandu doesn't run distant from an uncomfortable subject. He says that for any citizens, the only plan for stableness is not so much the lonely balance between Brussels and Moscow, but simply the entry into a larger state body - Romania, which is already in the European Union and NATO.
Small country between Romania and Russia
Sandu's arguments are brutally simple. In her opinion, tiny countries specified as Moldova are increasingly hard to survive. It points to advanced geopolitical pressure, hybrid attacks and economical dependence.
Moldova is truly "between the hammer and the hardwood": on the 1 hand it borders Romania, on the another hand with the war-torn Ukraine, and inside it it has unrecognized, in fact controlled by the pro-Russian forces of Transnistria. Russia has been treating this region for years as a convenient leverage of force on Chisinau – from manipulating energy supplies to open threats and disinformation campaigns.
It is no wonder, therefore, that Sandu is talking not so much about reforms and European integration today, but simply about the fact that single democracy squeezed between the interests of large players may have a problem with survival. Her confession is in fact an expression of fear of a repeat of Ukrainian script – only in a much smaller, more defenseless scale.
It's either Europe or Romania. How is Moldova trying to save herself?
In her statement, Sandu pointed out that Moldova's inactive dominant political task was a way to the European Union, not an immediate unification. It is the European position that helps society to last and preserve democracy.
Let us callback that the September parliamentary elections were won by the Pro-European Action and Solidarity organization (PAS), from which Sandu originates. The group won as many as 50 percent of the vote, so it has an independent majority in the parliament. All this despite Russia's intense interference, attempts to buy votes and a massive disinformation campaign.
Despite this victory, the president does not pretend that integration itself with the EU solves all problems. It indicates that the pro-European camp is constantly attacked by Russian propaganda, which attempts to represent it as allegedly hostile to the traditions and interests of average citizens. Many Moldovans are inactive torn between Western aspirations and fear of chaos and economical deterioration.
Unification as the last resort?
The formal merger of Moldova and Romania is present a highly politically hard and socially divisive scenario. Many residents are inactive afraid that they will lose something of their own identity, that their country will at most become a Romanian region with past in footnotes. On the another hand, there is simply a group of those who look at the map and say directly: we cannot handle it ourselves.
Sandu – saying that she would vote "for" – "adds brick" to this temper shift. Her words are a signal sent both to Brussels and Bucharest: Moldova does not want to be an eternal buffer between the Union and Russia, only part of a stable, larger political body.
Whether it comes to unity will depend not only on Moldovans themselves, but besides on how fast Europe and Romania can strengthen security, the economy and everyday life in this tiny country. Without this, all referendum will stay just an emotional cry, not the beginning of a real change.
