Vladimir Voronin who is the outgoing President of Moldova has been elected Speaker of Parliament even though his ruling PCM [Communist Party] is one point short of the majority. In Moldova, 61 votes out of 101 are needed in the election of a new president.

The ruling PCM has only 60 votes with the opposition planning to force a new election. Voronin has been preaching the concept of reconciliation but Moldova appears to be divided.

The division of Moldova is between the older generation who have fond memories of Communist Rule when Moldova was a Soviet Republic within the USSR. The older generation favours the PCM while increasing the ties between Moldova and Russia.

The younger generation is in favour of integrating Moldova within the European Union but feel that the ruling PCM is a major obstacle. There is another division besides the generation gap.

Moldova is the home of Romanian Speaking people while the Trans Dniester Region is home to the Russian Speaking people. The Trans Dniester Region has been in a sort of political limbo since its unilateral declaration of independence in 1991.

The Trans Dniester Region has its own currency, passport, and short wave radio station as well as local media. At the same time, Moldovans have been applying for Romanian Citizenship after taking advantage of a law which facilitates such citizenship.

According to a report from the BBC News Website, 1000 people a day have been visiting the central post office in Chisinau the capital of Moldova and filling out their citizenship papers. Many are electing to leave the country if things in Moldova do not improve.

According to President Basescu of Romania, about one million Moldovans or a quarter of the country’s population wants to become Romanian. The Moldovan Government has dismissed this as a provocation and has expressed fears that Romania wants to assimilate Moldova.

The EU has expressed fears that Moldova could be destabilized by the people voting with their feet but have not done much to correct the current situation. It remains to be seen what will happen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8045834.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8029849.stm

http://my.nowpublic.com/world/voronin-elected-moldovan-speaker-while-people-leave-country