Why president of Moldova spoke about unification with Romania and how it is possible

On Monday, a political earthquake struck Moldova. The country’s president, Maia Sandu, in an interview with the British podcast The Rest Is Politics, unexpectedly and candidly spoke in favour of her state joining Romania. She stated that if a referendum were held, she would vote "yes" and explained why.

Read more about whether Moldova is indeed heading towards such unification under Sandu’s presidency, whether societies in both countries support this idea and whether it is realistically achievable in the article by Sergiy Sydorenko, European Pravda's editor: Moldova’s president backs unification with Romania. Why is this happening and where could it lead?

At first glance, Maia Sandu’s statement may seem strange and even weird. At a time when other states and nations are making great efforts to gain and preserve their independence, she, while holding the office of head of state, declares her desire to give up Moldova’s independence.

But Moldova’s history explains why this isn't as strange as it might seem.

In Moldova, the idea of unification with Romania is a fully legitimate political movement. Some parties publicly declare support for Unirea (the creation of a single state) in every election. No one disputes its legality, even though in practice it would mean the end of the period of Moldovan statehood.

There was no ambiguity in Maia Sandu’s statement in the interview.

Sandu mentioned that the first discussions about returning to Romania took place in Moldova "in the late 1980s, when the [Soviet] regime was not as strong as before."

So why did Maia Sandu decide to change tactics and publicly speak out on a topic that irritates many?

First, she is serving her second term and can no longer be elected president of Moldova. Her party has just won parliamentary elections. Ahead lie several years of an inter-electoral period, when a country’s leader has the best opportunity to work on their legacy, which, in her vision, should include returning the debate on Unirea to the public sphere.

Second, the political landscape in Moldova (and in Romania as well) has changed sharply over the past year to year-and-a-half. After finishing her term as president, Sandu clearly plans to remain in politics and retain influence over the state.

Against the backdrop of the rise of populist far-right parties in Romania (often with Russian links or funding), similar processes have begun in Moldova.

Sandu can no longer rely on those who voted for her and PAS in the past to be loyal. She must now compete with new far-right forces, and that cannot be done in silence.

However, the majority of Moldovans still do not support unification with Romania.

Maia Sandu acknowledged this in the interview: "As president of Moldova, I do understand, looking at polls, there is no majority of the people today who would support the unification of Moldova and Romania."

If the Moldovan authorities are aware of these problems, why talk about a unirea that will not happen?

The answer is simple, and Maia Sandu came very close to it in the same interview.

She added that while unification with Romania does not enjoy sufficient support, there is another model that society does support. "There is a majority of people who support EU integration, and that is what we are pursuing, because it is a more realistic objective and it does also help us again survive as a democracy", she said.

But a less attractive scenario is also possible. Russia could continue its aggression year after year, while Hungary’s veto, directed against Ukraine, could go on blocking Moldova’s progress toward the EU. In that case, Sandu warns, Moldova has a Plan B: simultaneous integration into the EU and NATO through unification with Romania.