Comment by Evgeniy Dainov:
In Bulgaria, the forces of darkness have a powerful ally in the mass consciousness and mobilize it every time power begins to slip away from them. This ally is the tendency of Bulgarians not to realize their own achievements, let alone build on them with new ones.
Already in the early 1990s, foreign guests were surprised by the fact that in all of Eastern Europe, only Bulgarians were not proud of their peaceful revolution, which in 1989-90 overthrew the communist regime. Only Bulgarians spoke without pride, but embarrassedly and apologetically, about the “changes”. The British writer Julian Barnes was so shocked by this attitude of the Bulgarians towards their own successes that he wrote an entire novel - “The Porcupine“. Today we see the same story repeating itself - as it did after the outbreak of 1997, after the “green” protests of 2007-2012, after “DANS With Me” of 2013-2014, after the national anger of 2020.
And will it be the way it was again?
The protests at the end of last year - a few weeks ago - changed everything. Even then, it was clear that there were forces that would immediately mobilize to convince Bulgarians that nothing important had happened – that whatever had happened, it would still be as it was. The goal, of course, was to in no way allow the energy of the protest to turn into a mass vote.
Today we live in the midst of this effort, which has slowly overshadowed what was achieved in 2025. All the talking heads are mobilized to suggest through lackey media that there is no point in voting, since we will have the same result. That there is no point in trusting anyone, since everyone is a charlatan. That there is no point in doing anything, and things should simply be left in the hands of the current rulers. There would still be the same assemblies, because there was no way they wouldn't. And everything would be as it always was; and nothing new would happen.
It is a pity that even the PP-DB, the obvious carriers of the impulse for renewal, sank into this swamp: they got bogged down in squabbles over the arrangement of lists instead of maintaining the flame of rebellion. It is necessary to get out of this swamp with decisive, sharp and defiant actions. It is clear what they are if we remember what democracy as such is.
In a democracy, there is no ruling class that makes and imposes decisions on others. The decision-makers are temporarily authorized to do this by the holder of power - the citizenry. How does this happen? The candidates to make the decisions stand before the people and say: “We are who you are. We are fighting for what you are. If you support us to fight, your life will improve just like that“.
This is done with the help of programs, platforms, manifestos and public arguments between candidates. These things have long been absent from our democracy and that is why it is so flawed.
Democracy is a constant conversation and commitment
The parties should have already - and especially the PP-DB as the obvious carriers of the impulse for change - stated who they are, what they are fighting for and why. And no, it is not true that everything has already been said. Democracy - this is a constant conversation that is renewed every day. Therefore, if you are a politician fighting for power, you are obliged, every day, to remind yourself who you are and what you are for. This is especially important in our time, when all citizens are daily immersed in an ocean of lies, fabrications and outright nonsense.
Perhaps it is even more important to restore media disputes between the leading candidates - something that was personally stopped by Boyko Borisov. It has become almost normal not to enter into a structured media dispute before elections. And this situation has been going on for so long that we no longer even appreciate its scandalousness. An entire generation has grown up - for example, my students - that has never seen a pre-election leadership debate. They have seen this genre in American, British, French media. In our country - not.
Some of the media will not, of course, make the effort to bring back the leadership debate; they are paid to spread darkness. This is a job for the PP-DB if they really want to turn the storm of protest into a tide of votes for change. Let them structure a program for leadership debates to be streamed online. Let the program be what it should be: a debate on healthcare between the parties' candidates for health ministers; a debate on education; a debate on the economy; a debate on security. And finally - a leadership clash. Of course, we are talking about the handful of parties that have a real chance of casting executive power. Let the remaining hundreds clog the airwaves of the lackey media, as they are used to doing.
The task of the young
Let there be signs in the studio with the names of the invited guests. And let this sign indicate, when they do not come, who has left their place empty – who has refused to appear before the citizens to convince them of their rightness. And who has taken his place behind the sign – let him argue according to the long-known rules. And if the PP-DB turn a deaf ear – which I do not recommend at all, but not at all - what prevents the “genzites”, who so powerfully participated in the democratic process at the end of last year, from organizing the debates? At least they live in the modern world and know how to reach the largest possible audience. They also know what the right questions are that need to be asked. And we, who already know their deadly good sense of humor, can guess how they will treat those who escaped the dispute.