It is hard for me to accept what is happening in the DPS in recent weeks.
Just a month ago, I personally saw the ambition and motivation among supporters of the movement to strengthen the party, to expand support. I saw fatigue from incessant elections and hope for a stable government that would finally give some predictability to everyday life.
Against the background of the mass withdrawal of people from politics, the DPS achieved a historic result, as well as the opportunity to propose and stand for the policies that we were persuading and talking about during the campaign.
This is what MEP from DPS Elena Yoncheva wrote on her Facebook page. She continued with her commentary on current events in her native political life as follows:
DPS, of which Ahmed Dogan is the founder and now honorary chairman, and which has my great respect, is already much more than “guarantor of ethnic peace“ in the country. It is a Bulgarian party and all the meetings I attended during the campaign started with the Bulgarian anthem "Dear Homeland" and then with the European one.
DPS is also a European party that is developing and upgrading. It represents the interests of Bulgarians, Turks, Pomacs, Roma and all Bulgarian citizens. And if this party wants to be more and more seriously present in Bulgarian political life, it must expand and convince more and more people that it is constructive. A party whose work will result in real results for the lives of people from all regions of the country.
It was not the surprise of what was happening or some conjuncture that made me refrain from commenting in the past days, but the respect for the members and sympathizers of the party that elected me as a member of the European Parliament. As part of the civil quota, I do not find it appropriate to interfere in internal party processes.
As a representative of DPS voters in the European Parliament, however, I have a responsibility to fight for their rights and the right to appeal. A call for reason, so inherent in the movement from the very creation of the party. For humility in the name of not destroying what has been built for decades - tolerance and mutual respect between people, regardless of religion, ethnicity or origin. For patience and trust in reforms and changes, because only with them can the potential that was hinted at on June 9 be reached – it should not be wasted.
The easiest thing would be to stop there, isolate the background noise and focus on my work in the European Parliament for the next five years. But as I stated at the very beginning of the campaign, I will make every effort to earn the voters' support after the invitation to be part of the party's list, which I received from DPS and personally from Delyan Peevski. It was an expression of confidence in my work and what I have achieved so far. For the two months we have been working together, I see a driven person, ready to take responsibility and make bold decisions without fear of subsequent reactions. I have rarely seen this in politics, where people predominate, carefully calculating every word and looking in all directions before every step. I assume that the honorary chairman of DPS, Ahmed Dogan, saw the same abilities of Delyan Peevski when he proposed him as chairman of the party. I believe there is no way forward without determination and openness. That's why even now this trust is mutual.
In times of crisis, the path to unity can only be found through direct dialogue. I hope everyone involved in what is happening is willing to do just that.