The Șor Party ( ro, Partidul „ȘOR”, ), known from its foundation in 1998 until October 2016 as the Socio-Political Movement "Equality" ( ro, Mișcarea social-politică „Ravnopravie”), is a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

political party in Moldova Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. A member of the

European Conservatives and Reformists Party The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) (2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) (2016–2019), is a conservativ ...

, it holds

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...

and

Russophilia Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Century, ...

n stances.

History

The party was founded in 1998 by Moldovan politician Valery Klymenko as the "Socio-Political Movement "Equality". At the 2005 Moldovan parliamentary election, the party won 3.8% of the popular vote but no seats. The party intended to participate to the 2014 Moldovan parliamentary election but later withdrew its list. In 2015, the party decided to nominate

Ilan Shor Ilan Shor (or Șor; he, אילן שור; born 6 March 1987) is a Moldovan hideaway businessman, oligarch and politician. From July 2015 to April 2019, he served as mayor of the Moldovan city of Orhei. He owns several Moldovan businesses, includi ...

for Mayor of the town of Orhei. Shor, who was at that point in time under house arrest, won a majority of the votes in the first round of the election and subsequently became the leading figure within the party. In October 2016, Shor was elected president of the party, which was renamed Șor Party. On 1 December 2018, the party joined the

Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) (2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) (2016–2019), is a conservativ ...

. In December 2018, the party created a model collective farm based on its own election program in the Orgeev region, dubbing it the "Commune of Dreams". At the 2019 Moldovan parliamentary election, the party 8.32% of votes and elected seven MPs, entering parliament for the first time in its history. The party organized a

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

parade in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

on 9 May 2019.

Ideology

The party's ideology is based on

cultural conservatism Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultu ...

and support for establishing a

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...

. The party's 2019 program the following introduced points: * Free

universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

. * Free education including higher education. * Increasing the size and scope of disability benefits, maternity benefits and retirement pensions. * The creation of modernised

collective farms Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

to work alongside the private sector. * Active

state intervention Economic interventionism, sometimes also called state interventionism, is an economic policy position favouring government intervention in the market process with the intention of correcting market failures and promoting the general welfare of ...

in the spheres of infrastructure, transport, energy, communications, housing, pharmaceuticals, etc. * The

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of foreign-owned energy companies. * A commitment to

law and order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

including both reinstating the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for particularly dangerous criminals and addressing the underlying socioeconomic issues that may cause crime. * A commitment to Moldovan independence and

military neutrality A neutral country is a sovereign state, state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, Collective Secu ...

. The opening paragraphs of the party's 2008 election program stated that it viewed the average person's quality of life as superior under the Soviet Union when compared to modern times. It further stated that it viewed Moldova's socio-economic problems as relating to Moldova's negative relationship with the Russian Federation. As of 2021, the party supports moving the capital to

Orhei Orhei (; Yiddish ''Uriv'' – אוריװ), also formerly known as Orgeev (russian: Орге́ев), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei ...

Electoral results

Parliament

Presidency

References

External links

Official political program
1998 establishments in Moldova Political parties established in 1998 {{Moldova-party-stub