Moldova’s one day of violent protests against the Communist victory in the April 5 parliamentary election reached a global audience, but as the country’s 15 minutes of fame wind down, the change that protesters demanded as they vented their frustration appears as remote as it did when the election results gave the Communists a third consecutive term in power.

The scale and scope of the protest on April 7 seems to have taken by surprise not only the politicians on the two sides of the contentious vote, which the opposition claims that the government rigged to ensure it stayed in power, but the protesters themselves.

The burning desire for assertive action seems to have been quelled by the impromptu fires fed by furniture and documents taken out of the ransacked presidency and parliament. In the short run, it will strengthen the Communists’ hold on power as they move to marginalise the dissenters, but that alone will not be enough to assuage the growing dissatisfaction with the standard of living and lack of jobs.

Two statistics illustrate best the state of Moldova’s economy, even though gross domestic (GDP) growth exceeded seven per cent four times during the eight years Vladimir Voronin has served as president and never below three per cent, according to government data.

One is the average monthly wage of 170 euro, even lower at 150 euro for employees in the big public sector, and the fact that annual remittances inflows of more than one billion euro rival in size the country’s state budget, covering in full Moldova’s current account deficit of 18 per cent of GDP. Without the remittances, driving the consumption and hence the economy, the state budget would be crippled because about 82 per cent of its revenue is from value-added tax and excise duties.

The country’s population shrank by more than one million to 3.5 million, according to official data, over the past two decades, as Moldovans fled to Western Europe - Italy and Spain particularly dominating their preferences because of linguistic similarities - in search of a better life, while tens of thousands work for long periods of time in Russia, mainly in the construction sector.

With the economy slowing down both in the West and the East, some have been forced to return while others are no longer able to send home the same amount of money. Official statistics are not yet available, but reports have claimed that remittances have gone down sharply in the first quarter of the year.
Romania was another preferred destination, especially among the youth looking for better-paid jobs and less menial work.