Finally, a discussion about politics

Anatoly, the owner of the eco-resort in Butuceni, Moldova, generously gave me a ride to the next city to catch a bus. He first asked about my attitude about Trump and then he unloaded about the “two idiots, Trump and Putin.” Moldova and USA are in similar situations. Moldova just barely approved a referendum to start the long process of gaining entry to the European Union. But the other half wants to align with Russia. There are complaints about a lot of misinformation coming from the Kremlin. And the Orthodox Church follows the Patriarch of Russia. Misinformation, religion and politics. Sound familiar? Moldova has elections later this month. The president invited Macron and other European leaders here last week’s Independence Day celebration to support Moldova aligning with Europe. It will be interesting to see what happens. One region of Moldova, Transnistria, is controlled by Russian soldiers and it is not exactly in either country now.

In the restaurant I heard a couple speaking Spanish and I went to talk to them about Spain. They had just visited Transnistria, the Russian occupied zone and had no problems. It is officially part of Moldova, but they are effectively not part of Moldova or Russia. The husband and wife are adventurous travelers to many countries and they say the whole world is waiting for the current US administration to end. They also blame the US for supporting Israel in Gaza. End of politics. I haven’t been following the news from the US. Maybe when I return it will be a different country. (Wishful thinking)Read more