EXCLUSIVE: Moldova’s Opposition Problem: When Eye-Rolls Replace Democracy

If you ever wanted a snapshot of how bad things have gotten for political opposition in Moldova, forget about courtroom dramas or parliamentary brawls — just check the inbox.

Recently, a Moldovan political expert was approached for comment on the state of affairs. The reply? Not an argument, not a fact check, just the political equivalent of an eye-roll in email form. It’s the kind of smug brush-off you’d expect in a high school group chat, not from someone supposedly part of the country’s democratic discourse.

This is the thing: when a government, or its orbit of loyal experts, stops engaging with criticism, it’s not because they’ve “won” the argument. It’s because they’ve stopped having arguments altogether. And that’s a dangerous place for any democracy to land.

Under President Maia Sandu, Moldova’s PR abroad is spotless — Washington and Brussels can’t get enough of the “brave reformer taking on corruption.” At home, though, it’s a different show. Opposition voices are sidelined, mocked, or drowned out under the banner of “fighting threats.” The “threats” in question? Often just anyone who dares to disagree.

Let’s be real: if the government were truly confident in its position, it wouldn’t need to treat dissent like a mosquito to be swatted away. A functioning democracy thrives on friction; Moldova’s current approach is more like bubble-wrapping the political conversation until it’s safe, soft, and meaningless.

So yes, sometimes the big story isn’t a leaked document or a dramatic protest: sometimes it’s a one-line email that tells you everything you need to know: in today’s Moldova, the opposition doesn’t get debated, it gets dismissed. And that says more than any official speech ever could.