Four Moldovan parties that were previously in opposition announced on Saturday that they were forming a coalition. The unification of the Liberal, Liberal Democratic, Our Moldova and Democratic parties, which won 53 seats in the 101-seat parliament in the July 29 elections, is called the Alliance for European Integration.

According to the leader of the Liberals, Vlad Filat, the coalition members are united by their commitment to market reforms, building a state governed by the rule of law, and a peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. The Democratic Party leader, Marian Lupu, outlined the foreign policy priorities: European integration, restoration of good-neighborly relations with Ukraine and Romania, and strategic partnership with Russia. The first step will be to abolish the visa regime with Romania, introduced by the Communist government after the April riots in Chisinau.

Theoretically, the four have enough mandates to elect the chairman of parliament and form a government, but the prime minister must be nominated by the president, who remains the communist Vladimir Voronin. To elect a new president, 61 votes are needed, and without the support of the communists, who have secured 48 mandates, it will not be possible.

The Communist Party has adopted a wait-and-see attitude for now. Support for the "four" in the presidential elections is, in principle, possible, but under certain conditions, the first deputy chairman of parliament, communist Vladimir Tsurkan, told Vedomosti: the president must be a neutral person who is not an ardent supporter, let alone the leader of one of the parties. In return, the communists are counting on the post of prime minister. Tsurkan does not rule out the possibility that Lupu is looking for allies from among the liberal parties in order to finally join the communists.

There have been no discussions about dividing up posts between the leaders of the "four" and the scenarios could be different, Lupu told Vedomosti. The communists' idea of a neutral president is absurd: "The role of the president in Moldova is not as nominal as, say, in Germany. He is the supreme commander-in-chief, is in charge of the security services and plays an important role in foreign policy - the president cannot be an apolitical figure."

Lupu expects the Communist Party to support the "four" based on common sense: the country is unlikely to survive repeat elections. If the president is not elected, they will be announced, but only next year.

Consultations on the composition of the government and the presidential candidate will take place in a week, representatives of both the Communist Party and the Democrats said. Agreements will have to be reached quickly: the first session of parliament, according to the law, must take place no later than August 29.

The coalition is created, but does not rule