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The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) is the only case of an ‘unreconstructed’ Communist Party winning national executive office in free and fair elections in the former Soviet Union. The aims and achievements of the party so far have been very controversial. This paper analyses the PCRM’s re-emergence as a viable political force, its policy aims and achievements, assesses its contribution to Moldova’s socio-economic transformation and the implications of the party’s re-election in March 2005. The party’s revival is seen as a combination of Soviet-era patrimonial communism, weak post-Soviet democracy, economic distress, and adroit political leadership. The PCRM is not nearly as unreconstructed as is commonly portrayed; its re-election on a pro-European platform in 2005 makes this clear. During its second term, the PCRM faces greater pressures to strengthen this pro-European direction. However, its so far incomplete transformation into a fully democratic party remains an obstacle in this direction.
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