Comment by Georgi Lozanov:
Although I avoid collective formats, I joined a civil appeal for the nomination of a single candidate of the democratic community in the presidential elections in 2026 with one main task - to win them!
Not only to present himself with dignity, as we are used to, because we have reached the point after which, if someone like Radev comes again, Bulgaria will lose its pro-Western democratic orientation - or at least the hope for one. And it will not be Radev and the pro-Russian parties who are to blame, but those on the right, whose political duty is to defend it, for which they were given a huge historic chance on November 10th.
So that Putin does not win
To win the elections, the candidate must restore the trust of Bulgarian voters in liberal democracy with his campaign. It will not be easy for him, given that more than half do not support it according to a 2020 study. Today I do not feel like thinking... To do this, the candidate will have to show courage and insist on the definition "liberal", no matter that Russian propaganda has turned it into a dirty word. But otherwise there is no way to convince people, be it Peevski's or even Kostadinov's supporters, that democracy can be not only the power of the majority, but also the protection of the autonomous individual, regardless of whether he deserves it or not.
On the other hand, of course, they will not look on indifferently… Not counting the peak of threats and compromising material that is already being poured on the democratic community, participation in the next elections will be "at war as at war". And more precisely, the hybrid war that Putin is waging with the West in order to install his supporters in the high echelons of power there. As happened in Hungary and Slovakia and as almost happened in Romania. Its hottest front runs through social networks, where props are factory-spread and supported, with only the size that matters - of the attacked users, as a result of the amounts invested. If from the "central" decide that they have processed a sufficient number of susceptible voters, show impatience and want urgent referendums, which, according to Kostadinov's hints, they motivated Radev from the outside to propose for the euro.
A credible and integrating narrative is needed
But this will seem like child's play to us. In the presidential elections, they will try out the Romanian scenario in our country, and the risk of getting an openly pro-Putin president is far greater. Once, because we already have one, albeit shyly stated, and secondly, because the Russian dependencies in Romania have never been as deeply rooted as ours.
There is no one other than the candidate of the democratic community to thwart such a scenario, and not with symmetrical moves, as ideas are being heard. Because if you resemble the one you are fighting, along with your moral appearance, you also lose the competition, since you have agreed to play on his field. On this field, mushroom sites and troll factories are sprouting, financed by a spy center, not by transparent sponsors. The candidate of the democratic community can only respond to propaganda manipulations with a credible integrating narrative. In this narrative, the hollow concept of "national interest", usually coinciding with the Russian one, must give way to a "national ideal", such as our ancestors had after the Liberation, but formulated with today's date and a view to the future. The difference is that interest takes into account the significance of the nation in confrontation with foreign interests, and the ideal according to its own merits.
The story must also include history - from the first major rally on Orlov Most, organized by the democratic community itself, which is critical of its politicians, but their mistakes have never been a reason to trust their opponents. And since it is they who are expected to vote for the nominated candidate, it means that he must expand it to at least one million Bulgarians, without relying on deceived votes outside of it. So that he can, in addition to winning, free the society from fraud and thus his victory acquires historical significance, such as that of the UDF after the Videnova Winter.
The two obstacles that must be overcome
To win, however, the candidate needs a narrative culture and an unshakable biography of a democrat. Outside of situations of martial law, when he must act as commander-in-chief, and in early elections, when he must form caretaker cabinets, the president is actually a storyteller of the common destiny, and in such a way as to unite the community around the values of democracy.
His biography must be unshakable in order to refute the insinuations, no matter how cleverly they are composed. It is not true that this is an insurmountable task, because there are quite a few suitable figures, but they must overcome two obstacles. First, they must be highly motivated enough to want to enter politics, even though it is full of ill-mannered tricksters who claim to each other that their place is in prison. And second - the parties must not quarrel among themselves or internally nominate someone. But that is why the candidate will not be theirs and not the politicians' at all, but the democratic community, consisting of citizens who want to live in a Western country, do not view fraud as an achievement and love to read books.