Romania not only exports natural gas, electricity and humanitarian aid to the Republic of Moldova, but also populism. The recipe for scandal, “circus” and live broadcasts from Parliament, patented in Bucharest by AUR, was faithfully taken over in Chisinau by the “Home Democracy” Party, the one George Simion supported in this year’s elections. And this strategy copied from Romania ends up serving Moscow’s interests, undermining trust in the institutions of a state on the front line of the information war, draws the attention of political analyst Mihai Isac.
Isac explained to “Adevărul” that Vasile Costiuc’s “exotic” style has a well-defined target audience, and moving the show from Facebook to the official platform is part of a long-term plan.
“First of all, Vasile Costiuc is an old political figure on the stage of the Republic of Moldova. He has long been known for the exotic way in which he uses social networks, and we see that this has partially continued even after his entry into the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. It is a well-thought-out strategy, aimed at reaching as many people as possible, including from the important Moldovan diaspora, from Western states and other regions”shows Mihai Isac.
Milk, cheese and election campaign continues
The presence of Vasile Costiuc in the Parliament did not bring a change of tone, but an amplification of the methods that consecrated him. The political analyst recalls the recent episodes in the plenary, where Costiuc came with cheese and milk as a sign of protest.
“I have seen how Mr. Costiuc continues the media circus in the Chisinau Parliament as well. If you remember the episode with the milk and cheese in the plenary session of the Parliament and, at the same time, he practically continues the campaign at the local level, his party being in full preparation for local elections in the Republic of Moldova for over two years, is in full process of identifying candidates and preparing these elections”, the expert specified.
The AUR model, exported to Chisinau
A key observation of the analysis concerns the source of inspiration for the Home Democracy Party. According to Mihai Isac, there is a direct and logistical connection between the formation led by Costiuc and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). This collaboration was visibly manifested during the presidential elections in Romania, from May 2025, when the two entities acted in coordination.
“He took over and adapted the strategy of the AUR and benefited fully from the support of some structures of the AUR, specialized in this type of electoral war on social networks. Also, during the presidential elections in Romania in May 2025, Mr. Costică was extremely active, together with other political factors of the AUR, including deputies of the AUR, in an attempt to bring evidence regarding a so-called interference of the Republic of Moldova in the internal elections in Romania”. shows Mihai Isac.
Furthermore, the analyst points to their involvement in incidents at the polling stations and the negative campaigns directed against some candidates from Romania, such as Nicușor Dan, a fact that demonstrates a synchronization of the agendas of the two formations.
Competition in the populist segment
Although noisy, Vasile Costiuc’s campaign showed its limits at the polls. Mihai Isac notes that the party barely crossed the electoral threshold in September 2025. One reason for this limited success is the direct competition with Renato Usatîi, another politician who masters the art of populism and social networks.
“It is true that, in the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Costică is somehow in competition with Renato Usatîi, former mayor of Balti and a mini-oligarch from the northern region of the Republic of Moldova, who, likewise, uses social networks with great success to reach his audience and is also known for organizing lavish free concerts, through which he tries to attract a part of the electorate from the Republic of Moldova”. emphasizes the analyst.
The “pro-European” who serves the Russian narrative
Although the PDA leader positions himself as a supporter of European integration and, more recently, a partisan of Donald Trump’s policies, the effect of his actions feeds, voluntarily or not, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine, says Mihai Isac.
“As the European integration process accelerates, we will continue to see efforts by Mr. Costică’s party to present certain actions aimed at supporting this path of the Republic of Moldova as something ominous. (…) At this moment, some of his actions, especially during the pre-election period, can be seen as helping the propaganda of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova”. shows Mihai Isac.
These actions perfectly suit the pro-Kremlin propaganda, which thus tries to discredit the institutional capacity of the Moldovan state.
“The show in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, made by Mr. Costiuc and his allies, is used by Russian propaganda to demonstrate that the legislature in Chisinau is not capable of fulfilling its assumed mission. This can be verified on Telegram channels that are affiliated with Russian propaganda in the Republic of Moldova.” concluded Mihai Isac.
