| Party of Action and Solidarity | |
| Native Name: | Partidul Acțiune și Solidaritate |
| Native Name Lang: | ro |
| Abbreviation: | PAS |
| Leader: | Igor Grosu |
| Secretary General: | Artur Mija |
| Founder: | Maia Sandu |
| Headquarters: | Maria Cebotari 9/1, Chișinău |
| Membership Year: | 2020 |
| Membership: | 15,500 |
| Position: | Centre-right |
| Youth Wing: | PAS Youth |
| European: | European People's Party (associate) |
| International: | International Democracy Union[1] |
| Slogan: | E vremea oamenilor buni ('It is the time of the good people') |
| Colours: | Yellow Black |
| Seats1 Title: | Parliament |
| Seats2 Title: | District Presidents |
| Seats3 Title: | Mayors |
| Country: | Moldova |
The Party of Action and Solidarity (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Partidul Acțiune și Solidaritate, PAS) is a liberal political party in Moldova. The PAS was founded by Maia Sandu, the former Minister of Education and the incumbent president of Moldova. A pro-European party,[2] it is an observer of the European People's Party (EPP)[3] and the International Democracy Union (IDU).[4]
The party was created amid the 2015–2016 protests in Moldova and growing dissatisfaction with the ruling parties among citizens. On 23 December 2015, Maia Sandu posted a YouTube video in which she announced her intention to form a new political party. Her stated reason for doing so was the creation of a grassroots party, that would function based on the principles of internal democracy and would be financed through small donations.[5] Sandu was elected as leader of the PAS on 15 May 2016 and the party was officially registered by the Ministry of Justice on 26 May. At the time of registration, the party had 7,500 members and 20 local organizations.[6] In February 2017, the party applied for membership of the European People's Party (EPP).[7]
In the 2019 Moldovan parliamentary election, the PAS and the Dignity and Truth Platform Party formed the NOW Platform electoral alliance, which gathered 26.8% of the votes. After the alliance split into two separate parliamentary groups, the PAS ended up with 15 seats. On 6 June, the Party announced that it was ready to form a coalition government with the pro-Russian Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) with the goal of freeing state institutions, which in their opinion were under oligarchic control. After the coalition was formed, PSRM leader Zinaida Greceanîi was elected as Speaker of the Parliament and the Sandu Cabinet was inaugurated.[8] Largely because of the significant ideological differences between the ruling parties, the government only lasted for five months and was ousted on 12 November after the PSRM and the Democratic Party of Moldova voted in favor of a motion of no confidence.[9]
After the ousting of the Sandu cabinet, the PAS was in opposition. In the 2020 Moldovan presidential election, the party's candidate and leader Sandu was elected as President of Moldova. According to Moldovan law, the president cannot be a member of a political party which resulted in Sandu resigning from the office of party president and renouncing her party membership. Until the next party congress, the post of PAS president is held by first vice president Igor Grosu on an interim basis.[10]
The PAS won by a landslide during the 2021 Moldovan parliamentary election, earning them 63 seats in the parliament.[2] Igor Grosu was elected the President of the Moldovan Parliament.[11] On 6 August 2021, Natalia Gavrilița was voted by 61 MPs as the Prime Minister of Moldova and she became the second PAS Prime Minister of Moldova, after Maia Sandu (2019).[12] In early 2022, the party will hold a leadership election and is also expected to nominate a candidate for the 2023 Chișinău mayoral elections.[13]
The PAS has been widely described as a pro-European,[2] [14] [15] centre-right[16] [17] [18] party that adheres to liberalism, social liberalism, and economic liberalism.[19] [20]
According to its program, the PAS supports the idea of an economy "based on private initiative" and is in favor of a "significant reduction of bureaucracy in all stages of business".[21] In the 2020 Moldovan presidential election campaign, the party's candidate Maia Sandu proposed raising the minimum wage to 2,000 lei (around 114 US dollars).[22]
A member of the European People's Party (EPP),[23] the PAS supports membership of Moldova in the European Union,[24] [25] establishing a strategic partnership with the United States, and maintaining a normal and non-confrontational relationship with Russia. The party supports strengthening Moldova's relationship with Romania but does not explicitly endorse the unification of Moldova and Romania.[26]
| Nº | Name | Image | Term start | Term end | Term length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maia Sandu | 15 May 2016 | 10 December 2020 | |||
| 2 | Igor Grosu | 15 May 2022 | Incumbent |
| Election | Leader | Performance | Rank | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ± pp | Seats | +/– | ||||
| 2019 | Maia Sandu | 380,181 | (ACUM) | New | New | 3rd | ||
| 2021 | Igor Grosu | 774,754 | 25.96 | 48 | 1st | Gavrilița Cabinet (2021–2023) Recean Cabinet (2023–present) | ||
| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 2016 | 549,152 | 766,593 | Lost | |||
| 2020 | 487,635 | 943,006 | Elected | |||
| 2024 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
| Election | Leader | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| 2018 | Maia Sandu | Andrei Năstase (ACUM) | 71,803 | 32.12 | 129,432 | 52.57 | Elected |
| 2019 | 70,056 | 31.08 | 112,514 | 47.61 | Lost | ||
| Election | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | No. | ||||
| 2019 | Maia Sandu | 74,255 | 33.30 | (ACUM) | 2nd | |
| 2023 | TBA | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | |