Life

The Men from Moldova

The differences between the American and Moldovan political systems was highlighted to me this morning when, after explaining the Center and its activities to members of the Moldovan Electoral Commission, one of them leaned over to the translator and spoke briefly in Russian. The translator turned to me and asked, “So do you have bodyguards?” I assured them that I didn’t – not yet, at least.

Last week I got a call from a woman I had never spoken to asking if I could meet with the three Moldovans. “Why not?” I said. The men are in the U.S. as part of a International Visitor Program run by the Academy for Educational Development, a State Department partner. The three members of the commission and their translator witnessed primary voting in Pennsylvania on April 27 and met with other luminaries to try and understand more about the American electoral system.

Valentin Vizant, the commission’s secretary who asked about my personal safety, was the youngest-looking of the three and smiled easily. His chairman, Eugeniu Clim, looked like he came off the assembly line at the Dick Butkus Factory for Stocky Men. He said little during our hour-long discussion and yawned once or twice. He wasn’t menacing, just very Eastern European. The third man was actually a judge (several sit on the 30-plus member commission). Mihai Poalelungi was the most talkative and occasionally made statements of his opinion rather than asking questions. He clearly liked a little give-and-take.

On the question of limits on campaign finances and disclosure, Poalelungi was in favor of few (if any) limits but full and rapid disclosure (limits, he said, reminded him of Soviet rules). He said there was no way to shut off the influence of money and lobbyists, but disclosure would at least let the public know what was going on. A sensible man. All three laughed when I told them – in response to a question from Vizant – that very often the Center was rather unpopular with government officials. I’m sure they’ve seen the same thing in Moldova, although perhaps not on the same scale.

The were very interested in the influence on elections of wealthy individuals like George Soros, who is well-known “even in Moldova,” Vizant said. “What does he get out of it?” he asked, referring to Soros’ contributions to opponents of George W. Bush. We agreed that Soros didn’t need the publicity, but I said that ideology and personal interest were larger factors.

We talked about working under the threat of lawsuits, a common feature in Russia and the former Soviet republics. Poalelungi said that businessmen sued often as a money-making device or to gain publicity. In the Center’s case, I replied, our litigants usually just want to run us out of business or force us to retract a story. Our greatest mutual understanding came when I described the bureaucratic delays we often encountered in our reporting. Having lived through Soviet control, they smiled with the confidence that seemed to suggest that they could beat any tale of red tape I had to offer.