Our Party (Romanian: Partidul Nostru), previously known as the Republican People's Party (Partidul Popular Republican, PPR), is a left-wing and populist political party in Moldova.[11] Founded in 1999 as the Peasants' Christian Democratic Party of Moldova (Partidul Țărănesc Creștin Democrat din Moldova), it promotes advocacy for Russians in Moldova, social conservatism, and soft Euroscepticism. Its party chairman is Renato Usatîi, while other key figures include Dumitru Ciubașenco (the party's candidate at 2016 Moldovan presidential election) and Ilian Cașu (the party deputy chairman and 2015 candidate for the function of mayor of Chișinău).
Our Party Partidul Nostru | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Abbreviation | PN |
| Leader | Renato Usatîi |
| Founder | Renato Usatîi |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Preceded by | Christian Democratic Peasants' Party of Moldova |
| Membership (2018) | ~44,800[1] |
| Ideology | Left-wing populism[2]
Social conservatism[3] Soft Euroscepticism[4] Moldovenism[5] Russian minority politics[6] |
| Political position | Left-wing[7][8][9][10] |
| National affiliation | Electoral Bloc "Renato Usatîi" |
| Colors | Blue White |
| Parliament | 0 / 101 |
| District Presidents | 1 / 32 |
| Website | |
| pn | |
History
editAt the 2005 Moldovan parliamentary election, the party won 1.4% of the popular vote but no seats. The 6th National Conference of the Peasants' Christian Democratic Party of Moldova took place on 28 May 2005. The conference decided to change the name of the party to the Republican People's Party and adopted a new status and program. Its chairman became Nicolae Andronic. The party was in opposition to the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), who governed until 2009. On 13 April 2014, a party congress took place, in which Andronic ceded leadership to Usatîi, and the party was renamed Our Party.[12][13] On 10 June 2014, the Ministry of Justice of Moldova announced that it had not recognised this action.[14][15] On 8 February 2015, the party congress was repeated and the Ministry of Justice approved on 27 February 2015 the modifications to the party program, status, the new name, and new leader.[16][17]
Ideology
editThe party is described as left-wing populist,[2] socially conservative,[3] anti-EU,[4] Moldovanist,[5] and pro-Russian.[6] It is placed on the left of the political spectrum.[7][8][9][10] Our Party presents itself as "the voice of the people" and an experienced fighter against corruption; it wishes to represent the socioeconomic interests of "the ordinary people", which it defines as farmers, villagers, and the elderly. It argues that Moldova is a "pseudodemocracy" where the people must serve the will of those who govern rather than the other way around. The party argues that this situation came to be because of the pro-European parties who "through bribery, corruption, intimidation, and blackmail [...] created an entire system of the captured state" and which represent a small, wealthy group of Moldovan society "whose wealth cannot be explained by legal means".[18]
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The party appeals to the nostalgia of Soviet rule and believes that ever since its independence, Moldova has been experiencing socio-economic decline, "spiritual and moral degradation", demographic catastrophe, loss of its territories in the form of Transnistria, and the "degeneration of the political elite". The party identifies the corruption of pro-Western governments as the root cause of these issues, claiming that along with its Western backers, the Moldovan elites "have plundered the country, leaving nothing for its inhabitants". The party proposes radical reforms to root out corruption, redistribution of funds towards desolate areas, and transforming Moldova into a "normal state" where state institutions work for the people. The PN also postulates vocational training programs, modernization of the country's transport infrastructure, and a new anti-corruption institution "Moldovan Mossad". Additionally, the party opposes LGBT rights and wishes to align Moldova with Russia.[18]
Our Party considers itself a pragmatic, antisystemic, anti-corruption and anti-oligarchic force. It opposes the European integration policy of Moldova, and is described as one of "the most radical pro-Russian parties" in Moldova.[19] The leader of the party, Renato Usatii, argues that the European Union "wants to drown the country in debts so that it has to volunteer to reunite with its better-off neighbour Romania".[20]
Election results
editPresidential
edit| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 2016 | Dumitru Ciubașenco | 85,466 | Endorsed Igor Dodon | Lost 
| ||
| 2020 | Renato Usatîi | 227,938 | Against Igor Dodon (but he did not endorse Maia Sandu) |
Lost
| ||
| 2024 | Renato Usatîi | 213,168 | No endorsement | Lost
| ||
Parliamentary elections
edit| Election | Leader | Performance | Rank | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ± pp | Seats | +/– | ||||
| 2019 | Renato Usatîi | 41,769 | New | 0 / 101
|
New | 6th | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2021 | 60,100 | New | 0 / 101
|
New | 4th | Extra-parliamentary | ||
Local elections
editDepartment and municipality councils
edit| Election year | No. of votes |
% of votes |
No. of overall seats won |
+/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 143,387 | 11.2 | 135 / 1,116
|
City and countryside councils
edit| Election year | No. of votes |
% of votes |
No. of overall seats won |
+/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 87,090 | 8.2 | 784 / 10,570
|
Mayors
edit| Election year | Mayors | % of overall mayor mandates |
No. of overall mandates won |
+/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 43 | 4.8 | 43 / 898
|
|
| 2019 | 23 | 2.6 | 23 / 898
|
 20
|
| 2023 | 17 | 1.9 | 17 / 898
|
6
|
References
edit- ^ Nantoi, Oazu; Platon, Alexandru; Cristei, Aliona (2018). "Russian propaganda on "Odnoklassniki": the case of Republic of Moldova" (PDF). Institute for Public Policy. 32 (20). Chişinău: Lexon-Prim: 21. ISBN 978-9975-139-50-2.
Наша Партия - Partidul Nostru (Our Party) (about 44 800 members)...
- ^ a b
- Macuhin, Alexandr (2021). "2021 Parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova – An attempt at post-election analysis". Eastern Review. 10 (1): 47. doi:10.18778/1427-9657.10.04.
This is a clear overlap between the electorates of the "Shor" party and the leftist-populist "Our Party" of another Moldovan businessman, Renato Usatii.
- Banila, Nicoleta (25 September 2020). "Moldova's next president likely to be elected in runoff - poll". SeeNews.com.
Renato Usatii, 41, is a Moldovan businessman and politician, chairman of left-wing populist opposition Partidul Nostru.
- Macuhin, Alexandr (2021). "2021 Parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova – An attempt at post-election analysis". Eastern Review. 10 (1): 47. doi:10.18778/1427-9657.10.04.
- ^ a b "Moldova". Europe Elects. 2024.
- ^ a b Antoaneta Dimitrova; Matthew Frear; Honorata Mazepus; Dimiter Toshkov; Maxim Boroda; Tatsiana Chulitskaya; Oleg Grytsenko; Igor Munteanu; Tatiana Parvan; Ina Ramasheuskaya (2017). "The Elements of Russia's Soft Power: Channels, Tools, and Actors Promoting Russian Influence in the Eastern Partnership Countries" (PDF). EU-STRAT Working Paper Series (4). Freie Universität Berlin: 16. ISSN 2510-084X.
In addition, the anti-European, pro-Russian party Partidul Nostru (Our Party) is believed to have strong links to political figures in Moscow.
- ^ a b Huma, Roxana Adina (2015). "Reproducing 'geopolitics' – national identity representations of foreign affairs in Moldova". School of Government. University of Plymouth: 120. doi:10.24382/3408.
Yet, more importantly, he is a member of Our Party [Partidul Nostru], a pro-Eastern and Moldovanist party led by Renato Usatii, and their candidate for mayor of Chişinău.
- ^ a b Chirila, Victor (2015). Grzegorz Gromadzki; Bastian Sendhard (eds.). Eastern Partnership Revisited: Associated Countries in Focus (PDF). Warsaw: The Stefan Batory Foundation & Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. p. 69. ISBN 978-83-62338-64-1.
At the same time, Moldova's European integration policy is seriously challenged by the rising populist pro-Russian parties, the Party of Socialists and Our Party (Partidul Nostru), which call for the AA and DCFTA to be denounced.
- ^ a b Adrian Lupuşor; Alexandru Fala; Ana Popa; Denis Cenuşă; Natan Garștea; Valeriu Prohnițchi (2016). "Republic of Moldova 2016" (PDF). State of the Country Report. Chişinău: EXPERT-GRUP: 38.
At the same time, the left-wing political parties – "Partidul Nostru" ("Our Party") and PSRM – continued to win to their side the electorate that used to be loyal to PCRM and DPM.
- ^ a b Lavrenov, Sergei (2017). Evolution of Post-Soviet Space: Past, Present and Future (PDF). Moscow: NPMP RIAC. p. 148. ISBN 978-5-6040387-0-3.
Such was the outrage that for the first time in a very long time the right (the Dignity and Truth Platform Party and others) and left (the Party of Socialists, Partidul Nostru, etc.) joined forces in protest.
- ^ a b Nuttall, Clare (24 March 2017). "INTERVIEW: Moldova's populist pro-Russian 'hand grenade'". bne IntelliNews. Bucharest.
The Peasants' Christian Democratic Party of Moldova was previously a tiny left-wing player but, renamed the Republican People's Party or "Our Party", it performed strongly under Usatii in the 2015 local elections.
- ^ a b Martin, Sieg Hans. Erhard Cziomer (ed.). "Transformation and Geopolitics in the Post-Soviet Space: Challenges for the Eastern Partnership and the Case of Moldova" (PDF). Krakowskie Studia Międzynarodowe (2). Berlin: Krakowska Akademia im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego: 171. ISSN 2451-0610.
Thus on the left wing, the position of the PCRM has been largely overtaken by two new pro-Russian parties, the PSRM and Renato Usatii (Patria and Partidul Nostru).
- ^ "Programele electorale înaintea parlamentarelor din Republica Moldova: între promisiuni și populism". www.veridica.ro (in Romanian). 14 June 2021. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ Un congres ca o nunta. Controversatul om de afaceri, Renato Usatai, si-a lansat partidul cu mult fast, 13 aprilie 2014, inprofunzime.md
- ^ Partidul Popular Republican, redenumit în „Partidul nostru”, 13 aprilie 2014, trm.md
- ^ Motivul pentru care Ministerul Justiției a respins modificările la Partidul Popular Republican Archived 6 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Decizie: Renato Usatîi, fără „Partidul Nostru”
- ^ (VIDEO) Victorie multașteptată! Partidul Nostru a fost înregistrat la Ministerul Justiției
- ^ Ministerul Justiției a înregistrat „Partidul Nostru”, condus de Renato Usatîi
- ^ a b Gohlke, Lisa (2024). Beyond LGBTQ Rights vs. the Traditional Family: Diverse Sexual Norms in Geopolitical, Populist, and Everyday Spatial Imaginaries in the Republic of Moldova (PDF). Joensuu: Finnish Methodology Society. pp. 164–170. ISBN 978-952-65431-1-6.
- ^ Chirila, Victor (2015). Grzegorz Gromadzki; Bastian Sendhard (eds.). Eastern Partnership Revisited: Associated Countries in Focus (PDF). Warsaw: The Stefan Batory Foundation & Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. pp. 54–60. ISBN 978-83-62338-64-1.
- ^ Varshalomidze, Tamila (5 May 2014). "Moldova stuck between Russia and the EU". Al Jazeera.