Name? Maia Sandu
Westphalian identity? Moldovan
Age? 54
Why is she in the news? Last weekend, Moldovan President Maia Sandu announced her nomination for Prime Minister, Vasile Tofan. This follows the recent resignation of former PM Alexandru Munteanu, who stepped down following several party scandals. Tofan has no prior government experience, but is instead a businessman.
Why do we care? Although Sandu is the leader of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and Moldova’s most trusted politician, she is facing reputational damage from a series of party scandals. Less than a year after the last elections, the latest polls show PAS losing its Parliamentary majority. This gives the pro-Russian opposition parties an opportunity to contend for power.
Why should you care? Sandu’s nominee Tofan has expressed his goal of Moldova joining the EU by 2028. This is an ambitious goal for a country that, despite being commended for “advancing rapidly” towards accession, still has four negotiation clusters to close. Until now, Sandu had set 2030 as her target for accession. The tighter deadline comes ahead of the 2029 Parliamentary elections, in which PAS would greatly benefit from EU accession.
Who else cares? Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested due to Russia’s investment in Moldovan politics and its global alignment. Putin’s government was accused of interfering with the Moldovan elections in 2025, showing the lengths Russia will go to in order to influence the former Soviet state. Many ethnic-Russians live in the region of Transnistria and are descendants of those who were relocated to Moldova as part of Soviet-era internal migration programs. To Putin’s glee, their presence in Moldova helps to keep a distinct EU bloc vs Russia bloc perspective in the country’s politics.
Any further comments? Yesterday, the EU officially opened cluster 6 ‘foreign relations’ in the Moldova accession negotiations, further raising Sandu and Tofan’s hopes for joining the EU before Moldova’s next parliamentary elections.
