Voters have confirmed they want to be in the EU club. In standing up to Putin, they may have reminded Europe why its democracy is precious
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The “poorest country in Europe” is the pitying qualifier that often slides in to western media reporting about Moldova.
The former Soviet republic is objectively one of the poorest countries in Europe, and it has a population of just 2.4 million people. But its voters demonstrated a remarkable strength last Sunday – standing up to Russian intimidation in an election that was pivotal, for Moldova and for the rest of Europe.
The Kremlin threw “everything dirty it had” – in the government’s words – at derailing Moldova’s ambition to join the EU by 2030. The vote was overshadowed by claims of interference, vote-buying, propaganda, cyber-attacks and disinformation on behalf of pro-Russia parties. Even the Orthodox church was roped in, with clergy allegedly treated to paid pilgrimages to Russia in exchange for preaching anti-EU messages to worshippers online.
