For the first time we will have national and European elections and that will be a chance for sociologists, observers, journalists and parties to see how narratives, messages, including voter mobilization, will diverge or overlap.
This is what the sociologist and co-founder of "Alpha Research" said. Boryana Dimitrova in the program "Bulgaria, Europe and the world in focus" on Radio "Focus".
At this stage, we cannot talk about different messages from the political parties, since in practice there is no European campaign. "In the last week, there has been talk in our country about scandals related to the collapsed government, about the beginning of the work of the caretaker government, and the European topic is completely absent from the Bulgarian media and political space. I very much hope that it will appear, because there is something for the Bulgarian citizens to learn. What is happening in Europe affects each and every one of us", emphasized Boryana Dimitrova.
National elections always have greater resonance and weight than European ones, she noted. "The parties put much more effort there, make a much stronger campaign. Even if it does not eclipse, to a very large extent, the national vote will leave an imprint on the European vote, the sociologist believes.
She noted that younger and more educated people who travel and see the challenges and advantages of the European Union are more likely to vote in European elections. "These are not necessarily the users of European funds and those who benefited from schemes for the distribution of European funds, but people who really see the advantages of a democratic and competitive economy, such as the European one. We see that, as a rule, in European elections, pro-European parties have a higher share and weight than in national elections," said Boryana Dimitrova.
Voters in Turkey are not allowed to vote in the European Parliament elections, as the country is not a member of the European Union. "I don't think the Euro vote will be key for motivation and mobilization, but there will be other factors that will be key – what is the degree of representation, what is working with these people, how satisfied are they with the current representation. The internal political dynamics in Bulgaria will in all probability be reflected in Turkey", comments Boryana Dimitrova.
Conflicts between Bulgarian political parties do not necessarily mean different ideological orientations at the level of the European Parliament, the sociologist noted. "No more than 20% of active voters know to which European political family the party they sympathize belongs. On the other hand, with the European vote in Bulgaria, the leading factor will be the trust in the leaders of the lists, the theses they advocate, and already as a second line will be what is the European political family to which they belong", Dimitrova said.
Sociological surveys should take into account the attitudes towards European and national votes at the same time, the sociologist added.