During 30 years, there has never been a political force with an assumed unionist program in power in the Republic of Moldova, doctor of history Anatol Țăranu stated in a public debate hosted by IPN News Agency. The historian provided an exhaustive analysis of the evolution and current state of the unionist current in the Republic of Moldova, noting that unionism is closely related to the level of identity consciousness of the population.
"The destiny of unionism in the Republic of Moldova is directly and inseparably linked to the identity state of Moldovan society. Unionism as a political current appeared in the Republic of Moldova when, from an identity point of view, society was not ready to digest this idea. Two centuries of identity deconstruction by Russia, by force, led to the profound deformation of the national consciousness," said the doctor of history.
The historian's statements highlighted the fact that profound identity transformations require time and constant support from the political class. Even if the historical precedent of the Union of 1918 occurred in a favorable context, today the lack of a coherent national project in this direction keeps unionism at a niche level, said Anatol Țăranu.
"At the beginning of the National Renaissance Movement, the Romanian identity element in the Republic of Moldova constituted 2-3%. Only the most elevated part of the national intellectuals embraced the Romanian idea. The rest of society was unprepared for this. The same thing happened in 1918. The Moldovan society was not ready for the Union, but the Union occurred due to the historical circumstances and the geopolitical conjuncture," stated Anatol Țăranu.
He explained that, at present, there is no firm political commitment to the ideal of the Union, even on the part of leaders who assert that they support the Romanian values. Although support for Romanian identity has increased in recent decades, it has not turned into concrete political will at the governmental level, according to the historian.
"For 30 years, there has never been a unionist force with an assumed unionist political program in power in the Republic of Moldova. There has never been a unionist government program, assumed. The Romanian national consciousness is now embraced by 30-35% of the population. The problem is that now, for example, Maia Sandu, as President, has never promoted the unification policy. Although, previously, in an interview she said that in an eventual referendum, she would vote for the Union," pointed out the historian.
The public debate entitled "What is happening on the unionist political segment?" was staged as part of the series of debates "Developing political culture through public debates". IPN Agency carries out this project with support from the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
