Dr. Sabina Petkanska before FACTS: Ninova did not allow GERB and DPS to influence the BSP

What was BSP with Ninova and what is after it… Where is the party going, how is it positioned and how is the ordinary socialists experiencing what is happening. Dr. Sabina Petkanska spoke to FACTS.

- Dr. Petkanska, you take life in the left political space very personally. How do you see what is happening in BSP today…
- I am surprised that from the outside it seems that I take a very personal view of life in the left political space. Because practically my personal life has nothing to do with politics. My education, profession, specializations, professional development, family – nothing in my personal life is related to politics in Bulgaria.
But at the same time, I am a third-generation socialist, and the first members of my family were members from before 1944. I have been a member of the BSP since I was 19 years old – since the distant year 1995, when the chairman of the BSP was Zhan Videnov and when the socialists threw away their membership cards en masse. I have always believed that BSP can be one of the Bulgarian progressive, democratic and authoritative parties that can contribute to the modernization of Bulgaria and make our country a good place to live.
Unfortunately, the situation and what is happening in Bulgaria is far from what it could and should be - including for the BSP. That's probably why I look personally disappointed. But I don't see how it could be otherwise. Bulgaria depopulated and decreased by 3 million people in 35 years. Bulgaria is the poorest and most corrupt country in Europe, with poorly functioning education, health care, public order and judicial system. And in recent years we have also seen the collapse of all public and state institutions. The BSP is also to blame for everything that is happening in Bulgaria - especially in the previous years until 2009, when it was also the governing party.
Unfortunately, what is happening in the BSP is in line with what is happening in Bulgaria in recent years, which led us to the seventh election in a row and the division of Bulgarians, and from there also in the political parties, and the impossibility of forming a government.
I say unfortunately, because in this divided time for Bulgaria, and even for Europe and the world, if the BSP had clear positions on the issues of Bulgaria's integration into the EU and the fight against corruption, the party could become an attractive political force for many Bulgarians - to have a much better public rating, and thus a much more significant influence on the fate of Bulgaria.

- We are already in an election campaign. What are the leftist messages, are they heard, in what direction are they directed…
- I am not directly involved in this campaign and, unfortunately, although a large part of the time for the election campaign has passed, at the moment not only the leftist election messages are not being heard, but no messages are being heard. The campaign is not only lackluster, it seems to be absent. Even the slogans of the political parties sound to me inconsistent with the specific political situation in Bulgaria and the world. My feeling is that we are not in an election campaign.
What we all hear from the media are mainly the questions about buying votes, the fight between the two DPS, Peevski's influence in the institutions, and from there in the political parties. It's as if these news replaced the real election battle and political messages.
On the other hand, when the division in our society is so strong along the drawn red dividing lines – EU-NATO or Russia-Eurasia presented as national sovereignty on the one hand, corruption or the rule of law on the other, which lead to the secondary oppositions of Schengen admission or not, Eurozone admission or not, as if the division of left and right remains in the background.
In this sense, in the motto of “BSP-United Left“ - “It is time for decisions”, it makes sense. As long as the measure is found between the weight that the "BSP-United Left" can have an impact on decision-making, as well as the purpose and meaning of these decisions. The border should not be crossed and the BSP should be sewn into policies that would have an even more detrimental effect on its development.
I heard a message from the PP-DB with a social focus on green spaces and care for the young. A message that sounded strange for PP-DB as a coalition, which until now has been a symbol of the struggle for change, for changing the status quo, for judicial reform. After their collapse in changing the Constitution, they clearly took a sharp turn to the left and gave up on the goals that led to the emergence of PP in the first place. The PP made a left turn that makes them an even more leftist party, and even another party on the left. Adding to this their policy of budget deficits and increasing government debts - mostly with the aim of increasing salaries and pensions. I think this is disastrous for the PP and in the upcoming elections, not only will they not get back the 300 thousand votes they lost, they may lose even more. Because they have clearly deviated from their main program goals, through which they have attracted sympathizers and voters.
But this is not good for the BSP either, because there will practically be two left parties in the political space – "BSP - united left" and PP - with close main messages to the left-wing voters.

- “BSP-United Left“… How united is the coalition after Cornelia Ninova?
- Many times over the years I have expressed my opinion that for the left-wing people in Bulgaria, for the BSP and for all the left-wing parties, these pre-election associations and coalitions of 20-30 parties, which Georgi Parvanov imposed as a practice at the time, are meaningless and rather harmful. The mechanical gathering before elections of parties with completely different programs and political messages - from social democratic to communist, rather confuses voters and sympathizers, and even repels some of them, who would vote, say, for the BSP, but do not accept, for example, ABV, Maya Manolova , Tatiana Doncheva or one of the communist parties.
Over the years, these coalitions on the left have been mainly used so that certain persons who are not members of the BSP can occupy elective seats on the lists of people's representatives and municipal councilors, passing decisions at the National Assembly of the BSP to reserve elective seats for coalition partners.
Unfortunately, my opinion about the reunification of the Left after Ninova is that it was once again a meaningless mechanical unification, but now with the aim of covering up and concealing the rift and division that occurred between Ninova and her deputies who took over the leadership of the BSP. This was reflected in the division among BSP members as well. But this unification not only did not hide the rift between Ninova and her deputies - the new leadership, but it also opened up new divisions, about which Simeon Slavchev, Tatiana Doncheva, Georgi Kadiev and others warned. As the biggest dividing lines appeared between those supporting Ninova and those supporting her deputies - the new leadership.
Public attitudes showed that members and sympathizers of the BSP reacted negatively to what was happening in the BSP, after the party's rating moved from just over 7% to just over 5%, and so the BSP is predicted to be the last parliamentary representative party.
Or simply the BSP after Ninova is currently not united... The development of the processes in the BSP and the presentation of the party during the upcoming elections, the upcoming election of the chairman of the BSP, at the upcoming congress of the BSP, are the events that will give a chance and an opportunity BSP to unite.
But I am convinced that a real unification of the left in Bulgaria cannot happen in the way that attempts are being made to happen in the last more than 20 years – simply by a mechanical sum of many left parties. In order for the unification to happen on the left, especially after the recent events with Ninova and her deputies, I think several important things must be done:
1. - to broadcast representatives of the left-wing parties in Bulgaria and define a clear ideological definition, what should be understood by a left-wing party in Bulgaria, what kind of left-wing party they want us to have.
2. - to give a clear answer to the questions about the foreign policy orientation, the views on the structuring of the authorities in Bulgaria, the ways of functioning of a left-wing party, the ways of making decisions and other important questions that underpin the politics of a party.
3. - to draw up a long-term program with clear goals to fight for and to achieve, which lead to the elimination of weaknesses in social and economic life in Bulgaria
4. - principles for the functioning of the left in Bulgaria, ideas for Statutes, structure, organization, way of electing governing bodies, etc.
5.- to proceed either to the unification of all left-wing parties that accept the accepted principles by joining the BSP or to establish a new party.
If such a true unification of the left is not achieved, the BSP will have to find the strength within itself for renewal, making clear decisions on all foreign policy issues, for the functioning of the state in Bulgaria and to fight for public trust. If the BSP fails to do so, a new leftist party will emerge to take its place. And this may turn out to be PP and after the inevitable principled separation with DB and DSB become the main competitor of BSP.

- What is happening in the BSP after Ninova?
- What is happening in the BSP is, on the one hand, incomprehensible, and on the other hand, it is logical. The conflict that arose between Ninova and her deputies - the new leadership - is incomprehensible. A completely unnecessary conflict that affects and will affect the BSP very badly.
On the one hand, Ninova hastened her resignation right after the election results, but most of all, everything that happened after that between her and her deputies is illogical and incomprehensible. People who have been together for years, who led the party together as a team, who made the most important decisions together, who trusted each other and worked for one idea and common goals… Suddenly these people became enemies and fought each other. We have not found out about differences in their positions on the important issues of Bulgaria's policy - in relation to the EU and NATO, the war in Ukraine, the BSP's position in relation to the Istanbul Convention, the way to fight corruption, the adoption of the euro and other important issues.< br /> But they started an irreconcilable battle with each other. Then Ninova and her supporters were expelled from the BSP, the fight was transferred to the BSP, and this led to a new division, which immediately affected the rating of the party, and so now we see predictions that the BSP will be the last political force in the next parliament.
Ninova - before his hasty resignation, he had to do many, many things and prepare the BSP for his successor. Thus, the party would have clear positions on foreign policy issues, on the views of the BSP on reforming and modernizing Bulgaria and would leave the BSP united and ready to accept the challenges in the increasingly complex world of opposition between democratic and authoritarian forces in the world.

- Did the BSP get rid of the oligarchs in the party, or...
- One of Ninova's contributions, which cannot be denied, is that she removed all kinds of influences in the BSP. It made BSP an autonomous, independent and free party. Ninova freed the BSP from the influences not only of the oligarchs but also of the clans in the BSP who had taken over entire structures and had adopted the party as a hereditary organization for personal and career growth and sustenance. In addition, Ninova did not allow GERB and DPS to influence BSP, something that was allowed under Stanishev, especially BSP to influence DPS. An influence that was most strongly manifested during the Triple Coalition and which started the unstoppable decline of the BSP's public authority.
But the BSP leadership made another mistake. And under Ninova, the practice of making pointless coalitions for local and national elections continued, and through these coalitions, persons external to the BSP, but close to certain factors in the BSP, occupied the elective seats at the expense of the party members. And this is a practice imposed even by Parvanov, which gradually made membership and work in the BSP meaningless.
By adding to this that the leaders of lists in national elections are not commented on by the municipal and regional organizations, but are reserved for the decision of the national leadership, which continued to make decisions to have loyal cadres of the president lead two lists in strong regions… This is a weakness that Ninova did not deal with and did not eliminate. A weakness that continued to weaken the BSP. A weakness that demotivated work for the BSP and led to the continued weakening of the party's structures. The successful, capable and authoritative left-leaning Bulgarians continued not to see their place there.

To be continued…