Read about the election and don't give a fuck for a change

[topum]

If you are tired of the world's most important presidential election, here are a couple of lines about the world's least important one.

Today was the election day here in Moldova. Two main candidates have some similarities to Trump and Clinton. Like Clinton, Maia Sandu is a woman, is backed up by the ruling party and has been caught lying quite a bit (not quite as much as Hillary but then it is difficult for most to touch that level). And Igor Dodon, the opposition candidate has a pro-Russian stance and like Trump is often blamed to be in love with Putin. Unfortunately that's where the similarities end, no pussies and Wieners in this election.

None of the candidates got the 50 percent of the votes necessary to win in the first round but Dodon came very close with almost 49 percent while Sandu got almost 38 percent. So they move to the second round.

It is quite surprising that most people here voted to fuck off the EU (Sandu is pro-EU, it is her main thing) and to strengthen the relationship with Russia (Dodon's main campaign talking point). EU seems to have lost its allure not only to some of its richest members, like the UK but even to some of its poorest candidates like Moldova. So much so that they would rather run back to Putin.

Comments

[prorsus.livejournal.com]

It is not fun without pussies and Wieners. I expected more from the Moldovans. Some hilarious drunken campaign speeches at the very least.

[topum.livejournal.com]

Yes, their election seems to be unexpectedly boring compared to how other things work here.

[asher63.livejournal.com]

Very interesting. I spotted an article about Moldova on Stratfor this afternoon and immediately thought of you. Excerpt:

'The vote will come at a crucial time for Moldova, as the tides of popular opinion shift toward the pro-Russia camp. Since 2009, Moldova has been ruled by pro-Western coalitions that have grown weaker and more divided with each administration. The internal squabbling and ineffective governance has, in turn, led to disillusionment with pro-Western parties — and a surge in support for their pro-Russia rivals. Moldova's upcoming vote could disrupt the status quo that has emerged in Russia's standoff with the West over the borderland state. It may also upset the fragile stalemate in Transdniestria, a breakaway territory in eastern Moldova backed militarily and economically by Russia. Should Moldova begin to move back toward Russia, stalled negotiations over the disputed region could reopen. Likewise, a swing further toward the West could worsen friction between Chisinau and Moscow.

Moldova's next president, no matter who it may be, will face considerable pushback from political adversaries. Within the country's fractured and fragile institutions, opposition tends to be expressed through sizable protests that can turn violent. Given how much is at stake in the October vote, the election could easily destabilize the country, bearing consequences that will no doubt be felt far beyond Moldova's borders.'

https://www.stratfor.com/image/moldova-obscure-strategically-important

[topum.livejournal.com]

Very interesting, thanks for the link. The main reason people are fed up with the "pro-Western" parties is because they are horrendous thieves. They stole all the money from here and their teenage children post fleets of their new Bugatti's in Geneva on Facebook non-stop. Corruption is incredible here. And the US has been supporting them as long as they promise to remain "pro-Western" and be ready to stir shit up with Putin (via Transnistria) when the US needs it. So people are really fed up with them and lost all trust in the US (it seems to be viewed as incredibly dishonest by most here these days).

People here say that the second round will be falsified by the corrupt "pro-Western" parties and the US not to let Dodon win though. And if that won't work, people are convinced that the US will stage the "revolution like they did in Ukraine" under the "bringing the democracy" slogan and fuck this place up for years just to ensure they don't give this geopolitical win to Putin. People seem to be quite fed up with the US here.

[alton-lust.livejournal.com]

As an 'merican i find that incredibly depressing. That our credibility is shot to hell. Well, maybe, and maybe obviously, we need to work on our relationships. like everyone else.

[topum.livejournal.com]

I understand that the change in how the US is perceived by people here has been dramatic. One of our American volunteers had a long conversation with a couple of locals after dinner the other day which I found very interesting. I'll have to do a separate post on it.

[(Anonymous)]

I guess the EU is really out of fashion if even Moldova doesn't want in anymore.

[topum.livejournal.com]

Fucked off by the UK and Moldova in one year, haha.

[beautesauvage13.livejournal.com]

Putin scares me.

Reminds me Trudeau has yet to fulfill one of his campaign promises to punch Putin in the face. I've a sneaking suspicion he lied on that one.

Athena

[topum.livejournal.com]

People in Moldova seem to be less scared of him than we are in the west it seems. I guess they have been living close to him for a long time and got accustomed to the idea that he is there just around the corner.

[(Anonymous)]

People like the pro-russian Dodon are not less corrupt than other politicians from Moldova. He betrayed his country for a plate of soup from the Russian emperor, like a bitch. He is just a marionette of Putin, who is also a gangster and kind of oligarch. People vote for Dodon in Moldova because there is a strong pro-Putin, pro-russian propaganda on tv channels from russia, or financed by russia. People from the western countries don't know what really happens in Moldova. This country is poor because it never was really free from Russia. Russia is a so large country, why they , pro-putin and imperialist russians want a little piece from Ukraine in the east, from Georgia, from Moldova? I think to put there their military bases. this imperialist russians are so fearful, they always fear somebody will attack them, and so they attack their neighbours pretending to protect themselves. Moldova, Georgia or Ukraine never attacked Russia. But Russia attacked countries as Moldova in the 1990 (when they took the territory named now Transnistria), later Georgia, now Ukraine etc, countries that are much smaller than russia. Pro-Putin russians want to maintain a colonialist relationship whit their neighbours. Russians who have the courage to criticize Putin are very fast killed by him.
And many so called pro-European or pro-Western politicians in Moldova are in fact also Putins marionettes. You never know who to trust.
It's a long subject, hard to speak about just in few words.
Moldovans who vote for this shit Dodon are russians (from Moldova) or old poor people who never were in European Union, they don't know what is really freedom. They watch russian tv channels which feed them with nostalgia of times when they were young, during Soviet Union. Russians from Moldova vote for pro-putin leaders because they want to maintain their dominant position in the Moldovan society. The same happens in Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and all ex-soviet countries.
Of course EU has problems, there is no ideal country in the world, but there is a huge difference between the level of life, freedom of the citizen in the EU and in the former Soviet Union which was simply the russian empire. Only people who cannot run from Moldova to the west, go to work in russia. But if somebody had the choice to go from Moldova to Russia or to West she/he will chose the West.

[topum.livejournal.com]

I don't agree with everything in your comment based on what I saw during my stay here but you are right, it is impossible to cover properly in a comment. I think I will do a separate post on it trying to summarise my understanding of the situation here.

[erychan86.livejournal.com]

This world is getting crazier by the minute....

In Italy soon we'll have to vote to change an article of the constitution with a new one that no one can understand... And there are people who think that change this article - that eliminates the Senate - is a good idea, because the politicians keep saying that "we're going to save money and create laws more quickly"... That's the way they're putting it to confuse people... The unfortunate thing is: these laws they're talking about are never for the people, these politicians that sit in the Senate will still be politicians, and will still get paid for doing nothing, and the constitution is the only thing that gives the people rights and it should not be changed by a government that is -wait for it - Illegal... We didn't vote for it... He just appeared one day...

How did we get to this point? HOW?

[topum.livejournal.com]

Indeed. And more importantly, how do we get out of it.