{"id":443183,"date":"2016-12-24T20:46:35","date_gmt":"2016-12-24T20:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=443183"},"modified":"2016-12-25T11:39:38","modified_gmt":"2016-12-25T11:39:38","slug":"vlad-plahotniuc-new-president-democratic-party-moldova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/vlad-plahotniuc-new-president-democratic-party-moldova\/","title":{"rendered":"Vlad Plahotniuc is the new President of the Democratic Party of Moldova"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Vlad Plahotniuc was unanimously elected President of the Democratic Party of Moldova on December 24th, at the 8th party congress. The oligarch enters his new position after Marian Lupu recently stepped down<\/a> from the leadership.<\/p>\n

In his first speech as official party leader, Plahotniuc stressed that the Democratic Party should take the lead in the Moldovan politics and that this will be his personal political project.<\/p>\n

“People have higher demands towards the political class. In order to win the elections from 2018, we need to change radically. The moment has come for the Democratic Party of Moldova to bring a new method to do politics. We need to declare ourselves as a party that delivers concrete results.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Republic of Moldova needs a new vision that defines us. It needs to be oriented inside of the country, not outside. And we can identify this vision that unites us all”<\/em>, declared Plahotniuc.<\/p>\n

The Democrat mentioned that the European integration of Moldova is not\u00a0“a final state of the country, but a superior step”<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The 8th Congress of the Democratic Party of Moldova gathered over 1200 participants and invited persons such as Luis Ayala, Secretary General of the Socialist International, Victor Ponta, Vice-President of the Socialist International and former Romanian PM, Sonja Lokar, representative of the European Socialists and other social-democrats from Georgia, Ukraine and Romania.<\/p>\n

The Congress approved a new status of the Party, aimed at strengthening its role in the politics and aiming at winning the Parliamentary elections in 2018.<\/p>\n

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The Democratic Party of Moldova is currently holding 20 seats in the Moldovan Parliament, leading a governing majority of around 56 deputies.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact he holds no governmental position, Vlad Plahotniuc is known for his control over the Government, judiciary branch, prosecution system and the anti-corruption bodies through his proxy Democratic Party, vassal-parties and particular persons in the top of management of Moldovan institutions.<\/p>\n

There are suspicions that Plahotniuc secretly supported Igor Dodon in the Presidential campaign by using his media outlets to purposely denigrate the counter-candidate, Maia Sandu.<\/p>\n

Vlad Plahotniuc is often called the one and only oligarch left in Moldova, the grey eminence<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0the puppeteer<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>of Moldovan politics.<\/p>\n