Moldova: the fall of Valeriu Strelet’s government

On 29 October, Moldova’s parliament passed a vote of no confidence in the coalition government led by Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet. The motion was backed by 65 deputies (out of 101) from the Socialist Party led by Igor Dodon, the Communist Party, and the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), which until recently had been a member of the government coalition. Deputies from the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), from which Strelet originates, the Liberal Party (PL, the smallest grouping in the government coalition) and the deputies centred around the former prime minister Iurie Leanca voted against the motion. The official reasons for the motion which the Socialists and the Communists brought included suspicions that Strelet had been involved in corrupt practices, including unclear political and business connections with Vlad Filat, the former prime minister and PLDM leader, who was detained on 15 October. Following the government’s dismissal, the leader of PDM, Marian Lupu, announced the launch of negotiations in order to re-create a pro-European coalition alongside PLDM, PL and deputies linked to Iurie Leanca.