Two ex-Socialist European states have just elected anti-establishment presidents that seek closer relations with Russia. Unlike Trump, they are socialists and want to build strong ties to Russia, but a common trait is that they all challenge an unpopular establishment that is financially and morally corrupt
Two anti-establishment socialist candidates won respective elections on 13th of November; Igor Dodon in Moldova and Rumen Radev in Bulgaria. Photo: dodon.md & USAF / Nathan L. Maysonet
Originally appeared at Free West Media
In the span of just several days, pro-Russian candidates have won three national elections on different sides of the world: Donald Trump in the USA on the 8th of November, Rumen Radev in Bulgaria and Igor Dodon in Moldova both on the 13th of November. At least, that’s what the political establishments and mainstream media in Europe and America keep repeating – that each of the three new leaders is closely connected to Russia in general, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in particular. Reality may be somewhat more complicated, however.
It’s undoubtedly true that three candidates did defeat opponents that carried anti-Russian messages, and in that sense they can be seen as Kremlin-friendly politicians. But, there is another thing that these three share, that could have helped their respective victories just as well: the economic disaster they all ran against. The USA is the biggest debtor in the history of human race. Moldova is by far the poorest country in Europe. And Bulgaria is officially the poorest country in the European Union.
Poorest in Europe
In Bulgaria and Moldova, economic hardship influenced elections even more than in the USA, as both nations have been verging on total collapse for decades. In many ways, Moldova represents a typical ex-Socialist country scenario. Only worse. Much worse. The corruption is rampant, the society is torn between East and West, and average monthly wages spiralled down to less than a hundred euro. The state is barely functional, while oligarchs are beyond the law; a year ago, three banks collapsed and almost a billion dollars – more than one tenth of Moldova’s GDP – simply disappeared!
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