What to expect from the new president of Moldova. EPC Commentary 14 November 2016

On 30 October and 13 November 2016, for the first time in the last twenty years, the Moldovans directly elected their president, choosing Igor Dodon, the leader of the pro-Russian Party of Socialists, as their new head of state. The pro-European candidate, Maia Sandu, a Harvard-educated economist and former education minister, finished second. While the powers of the Moldovan president are limited, the victory of the unapologetically pro-Russian Dodon is more than symbolic. The EU should not underestimate the consequences of his election, nor his capacity to damage EU interests and weaken EU-Moldova relations