SNEGUR LAUNCHES PRESIDENTIAL PARTY IN MOLDOVA.

Moldovanpresident Mircea Snegur was elected chairman of the new Partyof Rebirth and Conciliation August 26, Flux and Basapress reported.In his speech, Snegur accused the governing Agrarian DemocraticParty, with which he had been associated for four years, of beinganti-people, anti-presidential, and pro-Soviet. He called forchanging the constitution (adopted in 1994 with his support) tocreate a presidential republic; dropped the concept of Moldovannational identity which he had promoted and thus drew closer tothe Romanian idea instead; and pledged state subsidies for collectivefarms. In the runup to the congress, Snegur told the Romanianambassador in Chisinau that Romanian reforms were a model forMoldova, a presidential communiqui said August 23. Few representativesof Moldova’s ethnic minorities were in attendance at the partymeeting. Snegur’s moves reflect a highly risky electoral strategyto forge an all-Moldovan ethnic bloc including the pro-Romaniansegment, enlist Bucharest’s support, and detach vested interestsfrom his potential Agrarian rivals, who are also ethnic Moldovansbut count on the non-Moldovan vote in the 1996 presidential election.

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