On the eve of Independence Day, TRIBUNA will publish a series of articles under the title “35 Years of Independence”. Dragoș Galbur, President of the Moldovan National Party, accepted our invitation and made the following statement:

The Republic of Moldova at 35

At the age of 35, we say that a person is mature. That they know who they are, what they want, and where they are going. I believe this is exactly the question we should ask ourselves about the Republic of Moldova as well: have we matured as a state, or have we simply grown 35 years older?

We have been through a war, economic and political crises, repeated changes of direction, and a massive exodus of our population. We remained under Moscow’s influence for too long and paid a high price for this dependence. But even today, I am not convinced that we have fully learned to think and make decisions for ourselves, to take responsibility for our mistakes, and not to constantly wait for saviors from abroad.

The Republic of Moldova today is freer than it was in 1991, but it is still searching for its maturity, identity, and definitive direction.

The Greatest Achievements Over These Years

The first achievement is that, despite all the pressures, political conflicts, and Russian influence, society has managed to preserve the freedom to choose and has not been permanently brought back into the sphere controlled by Moscow.

The second is the return of the Romanian language and Romanian identity to the public sphere. What a few decades ago could have meant persecution is today a reality that fewer and fewer people can deny.

The third is the rapprochement with Romania and the European space. Ties with Romania have become incomparably stronger, from education and culture to energy, infrastructure, and the economy, while closer integration with the European Union has become a direction supported by an important part of society.

These are important achievements. The problem is that 35 years should have taken us much further.

The Greatest Challenges. The Issues That Divide Society

The greatest problem remains the lack of consensus about who we are and where we are going. Many of the other conflicts stem from this.

After 35 years, we are still arguing about language, history, and identity. We are still artificially divided between East and West, between “ours” and “theirs.” Politicians have exploited this division for decades, because it is much easier to govern a divided society than one that knows what it wants.

We also have the unresolved issue of the Transnistrian region, left unsettled after the 1992 war; institutions that still do not inspire enough trust; corruption; poverty; and, probably the most painful consequence of all these failures, mass emigration.

When more than one million people end up building their lives abroad, you can no longer speak merely in terms of statistics. You have to seriously ask yourself what went wrong.

The Future of the Republic of Moldova. What Will It Look Like in 10 Years?

I do not see the future of the Republic of Moldova as an endless pendulum swinging between East and West, nor as a permanent existence on the margins of Europe, economically, energetically, and militarily dependent on the decisions of others.

I believe the natural direction is ever deeper rapprochement with Romania, leading to reunification. For many of the people who fought for the Romanian language, the Latin alphabet, and historical truth, independence in 1991 was a step toward breaking away from the Soviet Union, not necessarily the final point in history.

Ten years from now, I would like us to stop obsessively debating whether we belong to the East or the West and instead live in a common Romanian and European space, with security provided by NATO, functioning institutions, and an economy that no longer drives its people away.

Things I Am Proud Of and Would Tell a Foreigner First When They Ask About Moldova

First and foremost, the people. There are many Moldovans who have demonstrated, both at home and abroad, that they can work, build, and succeed in some of the most competitive societies in the world. The problem has never been a lack of capable people.

Then I would talk about the Romanian language and Romanian culture, preserved here despite an extremely complicated century.

I would talk about the villages, the Codri forests, the Dniester River, including Moldova west of the Prut.

Of course, I would talk about our wines, which have probably become one of the Republic of Moldova’s best-known products around the world.

And I would say one more thing: there is a society here that, despite all the blows of history, still has the resources to rise again. That is what I find important.

A Message to the Republic of Moldova and Its Citizens on the 35th Anniversary of Independence

At 35, I believe we need fewer celebratory speeches and more honesty with ourselves.

We should ask ourselves whether we have matured. Whether we have learned anything from the 1992 war, from our dependence on Russia, from the dozens of governments that have come and gone, from corruption, poverty, and the departure of more than one million people.

We cannot change the past, but we can refuse to repeat the same mistakes.

We can be more united, harder to manipulate, more responsible, and more dignified. We can have allies and friends without confusing support with submission and without constantly waiting for others to solve our problems.

And our generation also has a duty to those who took to the streets for the Romanian language, the Latin alphabet, and freedom in the early 1990s: we must not leave their work unfinished.

Thirty-five years have been enough for us to understand where we went wrong.

We cannot afford to lose the next 35.