In June 2019, the pro-Russian Party of Socialists and the pro-European opposition removed the oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc from power and formed a joint government headed by Maia Sandu. In November 2019, the Socialists passed a vote of no confidence and, with the support of Plahotniuc’s formerly ruling party PDM, formed their own government, led by Ion Chicu. In November 2020, Sandu managed to win the presidential election, which constituted a major victory for the pro-European opposition.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic growth in the second and third quarters of 2020 decreased by 14% and 10%, respectively. However, despite the pandemic, the inflow of remittances has increased, and the official unemployment rate remained low.
A relatively poor country with an underfunded and understaffed health care system, Moldova was particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the Socialists taking power, the ambitious reform agenda slowed down, and relations between Chișinău and its main partners (except for Russia) deteriorated.
