It would be naive to believe that Marcel Çolaku and the PSD suddenly showed their appetite for selfless support of the Republic of Moldova. In 2022, the PSD rolled out the red carpet in Romania for the pro-Russian mayor of Chisinau, who became the Moldovan leader with whom the Romanian authorities met most often. CJ Buzău also offered Chisinau City Hall financial support in the amount of almost half a million euros.

Marcel Ciolacu also posed with a smile at the rebranding of the fugitive oligarch Plahotniuc’s party, and for ten years the PSD was his umbrella from bad weather both in Bucharest, but especially in Brussels. The current leaders of the PSD, Mihai Tudose or Gabriela Firea, were also there to support the Plahotniuc regime in Chisinau during its glory days. It is very hard to believe that PSD’s support for two parties, one led by Ion Ceban and the other by close allies of the oligarch, both competing with Maia Sandu’s PAS, is a coincidence, and even harder to believe that relations between Bucharest and Chisinau flow only milk and honey .

It seems that Bucharest will soon be dominated by a very toxic duo, PSD and AUR, and the impact on the Republic of Moldova could be significant, the first test being the local elections in the fall of 2023.

If we look at the statements full of optimism and mutual admiration between Bucharest and Chisinau in the last period, we can say that Marcel Çolaku and the Social Democratic Party are a kind of Maya Sandu and the Party of Action and Solidarity.. Bucharest version. The institution of a government led by Marcel Çolaku is not good news for Chişinău, if we look at who and what the PSD has supported in the Republic of Moldova over the last ten years. And it may be even worse in the perspective of local elections in the fall of 2023, where the pro-Russian mayor Ion Ceban, who travels a lot in Romania with the same PSD, has a good chance of retaining the post of mayor of Chisinau and continuing his attacks on the pro-European.

Marcel Čolaku and the Social Democratic Party, with all the intense rebranding of the last period where they really deserve applause, are not big fans (supporters) of the Moldova promised by Maia Sandu. And it would somehow be too much, taking into account the performances of the PSD-PNL government at home. As we learn every day in Romania, there is a huge difference between what Marcel Colacu preaches and what happens in reality. And this is a lesson that the Republic of Moldova should learn soon (or at least some officials from the Republic of Moldova who sing odes to the Romanian PSD).

With carefully chosen words and speech “patriotic” (not economic, but only as a vision this time (sic!)) Marcel Colacu is not only a friend of the Republic of Moldova, but “There will be no peace until the body of this country is finally cured of the Russian disease” and “With every bridge built with Romania, an even bigger wall will be built in front of Russia“. Moreover, this metaphor is very funny for those who follow the relations between Bucharest and Chisinau and how we ended up filming with drones a pontoon bridge connected to customs without electricity and leading to a communal road. While the promising bridge from Ungeny and the promising A8-Unirii motorway are waiting for better times. How they expect rail or air service or some customs with decent toilets.

But let’s take them one at a time. In 2021 and 2022, which is very recent history, Marcel Čolaku and his PSD stood out only for rolling out the red carpet for Ion Ceban, the pro-Russian and homophobic mayor of Chişinău, who walked around Romania as if he represented a pro-European future. Moldova. In the CRPE, in a report entitled “The Adventures of Ion Ceban in Romania”, we documented visits between our authorities and Ion Ceban, no less than 30 in 2022, of which 17 were with PSD political leaders or their affiliates. She saw Marcel Cholaka twice.

Ceban is the main rival of Maia Sandu’s PAS, but he positions himself as a centrist politician, even with pro-European views, because the era of hardline, pro-Russian politicians in Moldova is over. Or, hopefully, at least it’s over. Seban even created the National Alternative Movement party, which the US State Department says is funded by friends of the Kremlin.

The hypocrisy is blatant, but it does not bother our PSD or Marcel Cholaka. As for the pre-election promises we have in Romania from the PSD, supporting a pro-Russian mayor in Chisinau is not on the list. In addition, in a brotherly way, the Buzău County Council, which of course has nothing to do with Marcel Çolaku, has offered Chişinău City Hall almost half a million euros for various infrastructure works in 2022. A reason for Ceban to brag about his closeness to Marcel Čolak and the PSD

Also at the end of 2022, Marcel Čolaku posed smiling in Chisinau with the remnants of Plahotniuc’s party, which also went through a rebranding process (sic!). The Democratic Party of Moldova is now the European Social Democratic Party. People, most likely, respond to the same commands and completely failed the European course of Moldova during the heyday of the oligarchs, but what does it matter. Social democracy with champagne is more important on both sides.

Two parties, PSOE and MAN, have high expectations for local elections in autumn 2023. PSOE even maintains high influence in many areas of Moldova. And the moment seems perfect, Romania is entering the PSD era, with the PNL existing only as an appendage and to secure a majority where appropriate, and with a non-existent president. It is not because he was too interested in Moldova before that, the unsuccessful attempts of Maia Sandu to be accepted in the IAE or the Presidential Administration during the Plahotniuk period are remembered. We have short memories, right?

PSD is constantly looking for dialogue partners in Chisinau after the escape of Plahotniuc, Romania has been betting on controversial figures in the Republic of Moldova for years. The central figures of the Romanian PSD, such as Mihai Tudose or Gabriela Firea, are the same characters who, during the Plahotniuc period, traveled to Chisinau to support their candidate for Chisinau mayor, or did not say a word about the abuses of the regime, accepting a silencio stampa both in Bucharest and in Brussels. In fact, PSD fiercely defended Plahotniuk’s regime in Brussels.

Even beyond the sometimes exaggerated benevolence of the Bucharest-Chisinau axis, Romania needs (also) more flexible partners, Maia Sandu is not part of this category. Coincidence or not, the Romanian PSD is the common denominator of both the European Social Democratic Party and Ceban’s party. – Read the entire article and comment on Contributors.ro