Moldovan government in upheaval amid tensions with Russia, economic turmoil
On Friday, Moldova's President Sandu accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gavrilita's cabinet, after a turbulent 18 months in power. Sandu announced her nomination of 48-year-old presidential aide and former interior minister Dorin Recean as the new prime minister.
Recean will focus on Moldova's EU accession bid, economic revival and restoring peace and stability. He will also deal with alleged attempts by Russia to destabilise the country, and a Russian missile that allegedly violated Moldovan airspace and hit Ukraine.
Sandu thanked the outgoing government for their work in a time of “unprecedented challenges.” She said they had managed to keep the country stable, peaceful and developing, despite the “many crises” they faced.
The government had made efforts to diversify Moldova's energy supply, but suffered from soaring inflation and had struggled to cope with an influx of Ukrainian refugees. Political analyst Iulian Groza said the reshuffle was meant to “reenergize” the cabinet, after working in a crisis management environment for over a year-and-a-half, Reuters reported.
The steep price increases, particularly for Russian gas, led to street protests last year in which demonstrators called for the government and Sandu to resign.
The protests, organised by the party of exiled opposition politician Ilan Shor, marked the most serious political challenge to Sandu since her landslide election win in 2020 on a pro-European and anti-corruption platform.
Recean is expected to quickly win parliamentary approval, with a new cabinet presented by the end of next week.
In the meantime, Moldova's foreign ministry has condemned what it described as “unfriendly actions and statements against Moldova” by Russia, which it said had violated Moldovan airspace before striking Ukraine.
Ian Miles Cheong
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