For this series, I've been traveling Europe
to see what impact falling birth rates are having on our societies.
Today I'm in Moldova.
Nestled between Romania and Ukraine
is often referred to as the least visited country in Europe
and population decline is a big problem here.
Huge numbers leave every year to seek work in other
countries and its birth rate has dropped more than 50% since the 1960s.
It's November 2020 and with
days until the first round of the presidential elections,
this population issue is central for
both of the front runners and I've come along for the ride.
Are you going to win? You're confident?
With two candidates who couldn't be more different, this election will decide not
just who becomes president
but whether the country is ready for a new progressive era.
Hoping to seize power from the current president, Igor Dodon, is Maia Sandu.
On my first day in Moldova's capital Chișinău,
I joined her campaign trail to see how she was trying to win
hearts and minds.
Her Harvard education and Pro-European ideals set her apart politically
but what attracts the most controversy is that
at 48-years-old, she's not married and doesn't have children.
In an attempt to establish normal political practice,
she's invited the incumbent president to a televised debate but he's a no-show.
So we expected a debate today, what happened to your opponent?
It's probably because he doesn't want to answer the questions that I have, the low living
standards, the fact that people have no jobs,
the fact that 140.000 young people left the country
just in the last four years and probably he doesn't want to show up and talk about it.
What is the narrative that politicians like Dodon will try to use about women
who are not married and don't have any children?
Something is wrong with her because, you know,
at her age women should have kids, have a husband and a woman who is not married
cannot take care of the country because she doesn't understand, she doesn't feel ...
Portraying me as a danger to the traditional family which is which is not true.
This mistrust of child free women is openly reinforced by religious leaders to a population
that's 96% orthodox christian.
I've come to Bălți to meet bishop Marchel, one of the most
senior bishops in the country.
His political commentary is influential throughout Moldova.
He's said to be wary of foreign journalists but eventually agreed to meet with me.
So you're a big proponent of the traditional family.
Why is that such an important thing for Moldova in society?
What is that risk can you paint a picture for me? What do you think is at stake?
I wonder then based on what you're saying, what type of person you think is the ideal
person to become the president?
For example, Maia Sandu who is single, she's not married,
she doesn't have children ... it sounds like she's not going to be your ideal candidate.
Of course, yeah!
Cheese. – Cheese!
This appeal to family values is something current president Igor Dodon uses to his advantage.
A friend of Vladimir Putin, his campaign is driven by an appeal
to traditional values, strengthening family and upholding religious ideals.
It's five in the morning and I'm supposed to be joining Dodon's campaign trail for the day.
The plan and unfortunately for us the exact meeting point are a tightly guarded secret.
Hey so we don't know where you are.
I'm the driver.
Are you able to send us your location or ...
Why can't he just tell us where we're going and we put it in the sat nav?
Do you know what I mean?
So are they just gone now? – Yes.
The only detail we know is that they were heading north.
So we headed north.
After a four-hour drive, we find the president addressing workers at a gas station.
And there are stern words for me from one of his staff.
Hello. Nice to meet you Mr president.
We went to watch a debate actually yesterday but you didn't turn up.
Yeah.
Are you going to be with us today?
Yes, hopefully we'll get a proper moment to talk?
OK, see you soon.
I had been promised the chance to question him
on his politics but that would mean keeping up with him and his extremely high speed convoy.
Oh, yes, yes! – Oh my gosh, phew!
I was starting to realise that infiltrating
this day of tightly choreographed performances was not going to be easy.
despite a literal shout out, I still hadn't managed to pin down the president
but I was told it would happen at our last stop.
Why is the family structure so important in Moldova today?
When you speak about how important the family structure is what is that
perfect Moldovan traditional family in your eyes?
The way that people structure their families is changing.
Does that trend worry you?
Are you going to win? You're confident?
Before I left Moldova, I wanted to get away from stage political gatherings
and see how this election felt to people at home.
In the quiet village of Pohrebea,
I visited some locals to see if politics felt relevant to their lives.
What do you think the future looks like for Moldova?
It's easy to paint the election in Moldova as a symbolic referendum on family values v
liberalism but it's clear that for many of the country's residents, their list of priorities is
still far more basic and population decline is a natural result of this insecurity.
So what does your success today say about the way that values in Moldova are changing?
First of all they want the change, they want to get their country on track.
They want to have the chance to live well in Moldova and it doesn't matter for them whether
this change is going to be brought by women or men,
whether they are married or not married.
Of course we still have a long way to go but despite that, people are ready for change so
I do advise all the Moldovan politicians to actually think better about the Moldovan voters.
Maia Sandu's victory may show that Moldova is ideologically shifting
but until its people have their basic needs met, convincing future generations to stay
and have children in the country remains its most serious challenge.