MOLDOVA: For the second weekend in a row, a sizable crowd of protesters rallied in the capital of Moldova on Sunday to call for the resignation of the pro-Western government amid rising resentment over the country’s soaring natural gas costs and inflation.
Political tensions in the tiny nation of east Europe, which is located between Romania and Ukraine and has skyrocketing gas costs as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have increased recently.
The president and her government are not immediately in danger, despite the fact that these demonstrations are the biggest since Sandu won a resounding election victory in 2020 on a programme against corruption.
Sandu has constantly denounced Moscow’s activities in Ukraine and is working for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union, which has given the former Soviet state a lot of support.
According to her detractors, she ought to have negotiated a better gas agreement with Russia, Moldova’s primary gas supplier. The price of gas for homes was increased by 27% on Friday by Moldova’s gas regulator.
Ilan Shor, a businessman in exile who was found guilty of fraud in connection with a $1 billion bank scam, founded the opposition organisation that organised the demonstrations.
Natalia Gavrilita, the prime minister, stated that she was committed to aiding individuals with modest incomes.
Until Sandu and her government depart office, protesters have vowed to hold weekly rallies. A further dozen tents were erected by demonstrators on Sunday outside the president’s mansion, adding to the around 100 tent encampment that is still present around the Moldovan parliament.
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