As alternatively to a heavy decline with warm, cloudy days, the early autumn is closed in a battle with late summer in Moldovan capital Chisinau.
With Moldova’s general election campaign, now in its final stages, the political situation in the country is uncomfortable as the weather.
The referendum surveys suggest President Mia Sandu’s action and solidarity (PAS) and a tight race between Russian parties.
As a rapid approach to Sunday, the center of Chisinaau is full of eager campaigners fighting for every vote. They contact passers -by, talk to them and hand over the policies and electoral vows of the parties to flyers and election newspapers.
Carrying out roads
One of these campaigners is 35 -year -old Christian. As people hurry him on a crowded Stephen-Sale-Mear-Bowlward, he hands over the yellow campaign of the ruling PAS to the newspaper.
“I hope our country will decide to be a part of the European Union, as a democratic country that respects human rights,” he told DW. “People should take responsibility for their vote that their vote decides the future of our future and generations to come.”
For PAS pracharak, there is no doubt: their country should join the European Union. “With the European Union, wagons want to grow in our country. It will allow us to be more independent and implement various projects such as digitization,” Heer said.
‘European dream’
At a short distance on the same Bulleward, 50 -year -old Vitley is contacting passers -by in an attempt to win his support for our party, the party of controversial businessman Renato Usati.
In the pages of the newspapers of the campaign, there is a flutter in the air in the air.
“Our country has become very poor in the last four years,” said. Witley considered the PAS’s Pro-EU a mistake as a mistake: “This so-called European dream is a big lie. The European Union will not be ready to take Moldova-notes in two years and not in three, four or ten years,” he told DW. “We should look very carefully and do not pay any attention to European lies, European promises.”
Television and Ticketk
Christian, Vitali and other campaigners talk to hundreds of people every day, try to win them.
As the campaign advertisements run back-to-back on television, politicians try to reach young voters on tickets.
With a few days of the election, politicians are not afraid to resort to grand words. President Sandu recently described the pole as “the most important choice in the history of the country”.
A strong option
European Union or Russia? West or East? For many Moldovans, it seems as if it is the only issue in the campaign.
Soon after Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, the small state, which is located between Ukraine and Romania, applied to join the European Union. A few months later, in June 2022, it was given a candidate status by the European Union.
The current government aims to join the block by 2030. It has not gone down well in Moscow, which has both economic and political effects on the country for many years.
Political debate is everywhere in Chisinau – even on the walls of buildings. “Moldova outside Russian” is dubbed on a wall in the center of the city. Above this, someone has written “Sandu – Sheep” in red color.
Neither East nor West?
While many voters have a clear opinion on matters, the 26-yor-ELD project manager Alina feels that nothing is black and white.
“No matter what the result of the election is, we are in a real pickle,” he told DW.
This year, the European Union decided to give € 1.9 billion ($ 2.24 billion) to Moldova by 2027, which is a loan and grant – support for the state. She is afraid that the European Union will have gymnopathy from Moldova if pro -Russian parties will get an upper hand in Parliament and fear that this financial support may dry up as a result.
But Alina is worried about what wool will be if a supporter wins the Russian party. He is particularly concerned about Russia’s response.
“Chisinaau is small, and Moldova is not particularly large ether. You don’t need a huge army to take our country,” he said.
Was great in Ukraine
The Ukrainian border is only 50 km (31 mi) from the capital. More than 1.3 million people have fled to Moldova from Ukraine as Russia launched its all-out war in February 2022. About 100,000 of them have stopped putting heavy economic burden on this small country.
But on the other side of the border, war is a psychological tension. Russian drones regularly come down on the Moldovan region.
“War in Ukraine seems very close,” 22 -year -old Mitchell, who works as a sales manager. “We feel pressure – not that much now like the past, but perhaps we have just become charged for it.”
The fear of war with Russia reduces many things here. Eventually, Moldova has about 1,500 Russian soldiers. They are posted in Transnistria, a separatist region with the boundaries of Moldova that separated from the country in 1990 and has its own army, currency and government.
Economically and military, Transnistria is dependent on Russia and has been asked to integrate in the Russian Federation in the past.
A call for ‘neutrality’
Moldova’s ruling PAS has repeatedly declared its solidarity with Ukraine, unlike the Russian-pro-patriotic electoral block (BEP), which was ranked second by the opinion poll.
“Neutrality is our shield. Moldova Republic should be a bridge between East and West, not in the battlefield,” BEP in his campaign newspaper says, there is a fear of a possible Russian invasion if Moldova continues along the path of its European Union.
This same fear is spreading online.
Anastasia Nani works for the Center for Independent Journalism, which has noted a large -scale Russian influence on social media in recent year.
Nani says that one of the most frequent narratives is that “NATO and Ukraine want to drag us; our people will fight on the front.”
She says, “Already the validity of the election is being said in question,” she says, in this way, Russia wants to reduce the trust of moldovans in the election and the rule of law.
Increased cost of life
But it is not just a war in Ukraine that a big issue in this election. Like the rest of Europe, inflation is one of the most pressure problems in Moldova.
“Yesterday I paid 70 lai (€ 3.50 or $ 4.10) for some tomatoes and some bread. It has no meaning,” Alina said.
When Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, inflation in Moldova increased to about 29%. While it has fallen again, it was 7.3% in August, which is still above the average of the European Union.
Although high prices affect everyone, it is that before the war in Ukraine who were not very high as pensioners, who are most difficult.
About one-third of moldovans in rural areas below the poverty line. Elderly women began outside the supermarket in Chisinaau. On the marketplace, very elderly men and women can sell sea fruits and vegetables.
This year the cost of purchasing and buying apartments has increased. People often pay € 500 rent in a month for a room apartment in Chisinaau, which is a lot. The average monthly income in Moldova is € 800.
“I am 26 years old and I like to buy an apartment in the future,” says Alina. “But how? They are very highly overwhelmed at this time. It is absolutely crazy.”
Therefore, there is no surprise that Alina and most of the moldovan desire one thing above all: the end of spilling prices.
Voters in Moldova will decide on Sunday who they trust for this bite.
This article was the original published in German.