Andrei Gyurov and Georgi Kandev can rely primarily on the citizen vote, and one of the major tasks of the presidential elections is to influence some of the people who supported Rumen Radev. This was stated in “Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov” by the media and journalism expert Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov, who is a member of the initiative committee that nominated the presidential candidate pair Andrei Gyurov - Georgi Kandev.
According to Lozanov, some of the people who supported Radev did so with the expectation that he would oppose the oligarchy, but were subsequently disappointed by his policies. “These people voted for him to fight the oligarchy. And instead he did something else. It started to turn pro-Russian Euroscepticism into state policy. And I think these people did not vote for that“, he commented.
According to him, it is these voters who may prove decisive for the outcome of the presidential vote. He believes that the candidacy of Gyurov and Kandev may enable some of them to make a choice that, in his opinion, is closer to their own beliefs.“The question is whether the Gyurov-Kandev pair will be able to give an incentive to some of this electorate to synchronize their vote with their own beliefs“, said Lozanov.
The associate professor cited data according to which 56% of Bulgarians believe that the country's strategic partner should be the European Union, while 19% point to Russia. “If the vote is different and the proportion is different, it will be the result of a hybrid attack and hybrid processing of consciousness“, said Lozanov.
He stressed that Bulgaria is particularly susceptible to the influence of Russian propaganda due to historical and other factors. He defined what is happening as part of a broader hybrid war. “The big task now is to somehow counteract this hybrid propaganda, which has been irradiating for 20 years - since this hybrid war has been going on“, he said.
Lozanov also commented on the position of Iliyana Yotova, which, according to him, is connected to Rumen Radev's electorate. He believes that even during the joint work of Radev and Yotova in the presidency, a Eurosceptic tone began to be established. “Iliyana Yotova, together with Rumen Radev, first imposed this model in the presidency. This Euroscepticism began to be heard for the first time from the presidency. And there I have never heard Iliyana Yotova object to this“, said the media expert.
However, he rejected the thesis that GERB voters are Eurosceptic. According to him, a significant part of this vote is rather clientelistic and oriented towards the political force that seems to be the winner. “I do not think for a moment that they are Eurosceptics. However, I am saying that a large part of this vote is a clientelistic vote that wants to be with the winners“, Lozanov pointed out. According to him, GERB's refusal to nominate its own candidate for president is not the most important factor in the outcome of the elections. Lozanov believes that Gyurov and Kandev should seek support primarily among the citizen vote.