The two-month noisy, coordinated and aggressive media campaign of the opposition forces suffered a complete electoral fiasco.
Instead of a collapse of the ruling party, the latest data from two of the most authoritative sociological agencies acted as a cold shower for the critics. “Market LINKS“ reported 39% support, and the latest survey by Boryana Dimitrova from “Alpha Research“ shows a jump to 41% for “Progressive Bulgaria“ (PB) of President Rumen Radev. This is happening in spite of the 24-hour opposition “congress“, broadcast live from the leading national television stations. The crushing lead of about thirty percent over the others outlines a new political landscape.
„The“Vaccine“ against inflation and the price issue
No matter how much the Bulgarian National Party is accused of “communication weakness“, the team around the head of state came out ahead of time innocent of the price spike. The main credit goes to Radev and a handful of eloquent figures from his entourage. The president took a gamble when the opposition refused to even consider his proposal for a referendum on the date for introducing the euro. This political vaccine was personally administered by Assoc. Prof. Natalia Kiselova, which buried the remnants of the BSP a few more feet in the trap. In the role of “we told you first”, the Radev cabinet took off the heaviest burden – the double and triple jump in prices, which would otherwise have caused social upheavals.
In order not to neglect the topic, the government initiated the “story with the basket“. This was a proper counterpoint to the madness with Delyan's store, which went to Lafka even before the first monthly report of the cash register.
The truth about the budget, the slingshot against the prosecutor's office and the suppression of “Botas“
On the topic of state finances, it was clearly explained that this was the only possible budget against the backdrop of the depleted treasury. Eurostat – and not “Eurofootball“ – officially confirmed that the acting Prime Minister Galab Donev was completely right about the real size of the deficit, previously carried out surrogately by Assen “Eyes“ and aunt Nushka.
To the criticism “how many oligarchs have you stopped in two months and why are there no arrests“, the answer is also very clear to the voters. With the current prosecutor's office, every action is a slingshot at the moon. There are legal deadlines:
Autumn: Election of a new Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). In the spring: Election of a new prosecutor general.Anything outside this timeline would be just another showy display, similar to the stupid arrest of Boyko Borisov, with which the once wise Kiril Petkov brought him back to power.
The opposition failed to reap dividends from another of its favorite topics - the contract with “Botas“. Initially, the majority of people still do not understand the complex economic nature of the case. Over time, Radev and those around him managed to skillfully present things in their favor, indicating that the contract was absolutely inevitable - signed in conditions of a necessary rapid response to urgently provide gas for the country. To top it off, Radev personally negotiated with Recep Erdogan a freeze on payments, which literally took away from the opposition its favorite chewing gum for attacks against the new government.
Military neutrality and the perfect move with the tanks
The suspension of military aid to Ukraine not only did not hurt the PB's rating, but it also "perfumed" it further. Most of the party's voters firmly do not want the country to intervene in the conflict - the same applies to the case with the Polish MiG-29s.
The case with the tanker planes was a situation that Radev played perfectly. His main detractors initially received them without complaint at the civil airport in Sofia without explanation, until the people of Sofia saw them and panic set in. What followed was a lie in the classic style of the last 15 years about supposedly ongoing “exercises“, and this on the condition that the Americans had already bombed Iran.
The decision to move them to Bezmer was explained logically and honestly:
The location of the tanks is not in Sofia, but in the military base. US is not denied – our strongest ally wants help and people understood it, even in Bezmer. The alternative: If GERB and PP-DB were in power, they would bring the tanks into their homes to please Washington. But after April 19, they were sent to the box and nothing depends on them.
Fear of the past as the strongest motivation
The results of 41% for the PB against the collapse of the others show the second plan of Bulgarian politics. Whatever mistakes of growth Radev's party makes, no matter how slowly the changes happen, the idea of the return of the old status quo is a powerful brake. The thought that Borisov, Peevski or the naive and stubborn urban right-wingers could return to power is quite enough motivation for electoral patience.
The question remains open whether the PP-DB realizes what they are doing. Singing in a common choir with Borisov and Peevski again, this time as opposition partners, will not end well for them. The annals of old political chronicles have already clearly proven what the fate of such alliances is.