Comment by Georgi Lozanov:
I can't remember how many times I have already warned that there are attempts to erase the democratic right from the map of Bulgarian politics.
The attempts are being superimposed in an offensive against PP-DB and especially against “We continue the change“ in an effort to oppose them to “Democratic Bulgaria“. Because before the PP won the elections in 2021 and gave electoral energy to the fight against the status quo, it seemed that this status quo would be able to appropriate as a “democratic brooch“ and DB, as happened with the UDF, and partly with the Reformist Bloc.
The PP dashed these hopes, especially when they formed a coalition with the DB, and therefore they clearly had to be punished - so that the status quo could return “on a white horse“, and they would fight for their survival, similar to the political representatives of the democratic community after the end of their only full mandate during the time of Ivan Kostov.
Radev also joined the punitive offensives
It is significant that not only the leaders and “blades“ of the status quo, but literally all the parties represented in parliament, including President Radev, joined the punitive offensive. It was he who, despite building an image of an irreconcilable fighter with the status quo, called the PP “charlatans“, “liars“ and what not. Toshko Yordanov also joined in the humiliating arias of malice with aplomb, using offensive words.
And it is not just about hate speech, which Bulgarian political language has long since become, but also a crime under the Criminal Code, which cumulatively falls under the sanction of two articles - for insult and defamation. They defend the intangible human right to honor and dignity, systematically trampled on in the verbal attacks against the PP. But politicians who enjoy immunity are not caught by the law, and they feel encouraged by some Seirji-minded voters, thirsty for rhetorical sacrifices. In this case, there is no need to even argue with them, because anything expressed in a humiliating manner still qualifies as an insult.
All, depending on their home upbringing, ideological their preferences, their degree of nervousness and their enmities with each other, participate in a kind of broad coalition of hate against the PP-DB, which is permanent, but, of course, has its peaks with different leading players.
The fabrications that brought down the PP-DB government
Radev, who saw himself as the “political father“ of the PP, called them “charlatans“ when it became clear to him that they would not follow his streamlined position on Putin's invasion of Ukraine. And they clearly demonstrated this when their government expelled 70 employees from the Russian embassy in Sofia, who probably had additional functions. The PP-DB government was brought down by their “alleged partners“ from the ITN - probably for reasons similar to Radev's, because the two official explanations they gave then, they turned out to be outright scumbags.
The first - that the state debt was increasing excessively - was completely forgotten during their later joint government with GERB, BSP and Peevski in reserve, although the debt increased many times over, and they did not say a word. The second explanation - that the "Petkov" cabinet was ready to make concessions to North Macedonia - was hollow phraseology, since there was no change in our relations with our neighbors under all governments in recent years. But it is possible that in this case, dependencies were manifested not along Russian lines, but along DPS lines, considering that the aggressiveness of the ITN towards the PP-DB is comparable only to that of Peevski - these are the generals in the battle against the democratic right.
The next organized attack again came from coalition partners, but it was far more perfidious and prolonged – started with the creation of the “assembly“ with GERB and never stopped. And Peevski even created a “museum of the assembly“ in the parliament, in order to squeeze out the last drops of hate. For PP-DB, this paradoxical political format was Bulgaria's chance to stop Radev's official offices and enter Schengen and the eurozone. But for GERB, with the kind assistance of Peevski, this was an opportunity to compromise their partners with the means of “auto-compromise“: if you are with us, then you are not better than us.
Arrests and protests
And if they are like them, then they had to be accused of corruption and the attacks were directed towards that. As proof, a photo of a poodle with a wad of banknotes between its teeth, which was not even suitable for a cartoon character, was circulated in the public space. But it was enough for Peevski to declare the PP the “party of poodles“ and to repeat it in order to enter the political vocabulary. He did not succeed – except in his most loyal media, but the game is getting rougher.
Public labels were no longer enough and representatives of the PP really had to be arrested for corruption – first a deputy mayor of Sofia, and then the mayor of Varna. However, the obvious unconvincingness of the second arrest with fabricated “in step” testified not only did not do the expected job, but also brought citizens to the streets and later led to the largest protests in the entire transition in Bulgaria so far. They, besides being in defense and in sync with the PP-DB, were, as in 2020, against the same power status quo, but with a new emphasis - the use of the state's repressive apparatus to deal with political opponents. Thus, there was a real prospect that civil discontent would transform into a powerful vote for the PP-DB in the upcoming elections and it could be predicted that they would face another, maximum, peak of attacks against them.
The tragedy in Petrokhan as political compromising material
That is what the horrific tragedy in Petrokhan turned into. It is unlikely that it will become clear what kind of intervention the services had, but the case was used as political compromising material from the very beginning. Even before any facts established by the investigation were made public, two very sensitive buttons of collective emotions were pressed - pedophilia and sectarianism - with the suggestion that the PP are, or at least consciously supported, a “pedophile sect“. Regardless of whether the political figures associated with them had any relations with the victims, when this was and on what occasion. It is supposedly still being investigated, but the media bubble of comments had to be inflated to such an extent that the accusations would fall unhindered on those whom the status quo wants to punish.
How did the PP-DB manage to unite everyone against them? This happened when the status quo expanded geopolitically as well, accepting those who got off the “tram of democracy“ (in Erdogan's ironic words), and only the PP-DB remained in it. The others are trying to fit into the new world order, in which the old “great powers“ will once again decide the fate of the others. And to save yourself, it is best to side with them yourself. And we have known since we were children which great power always saves us…
Whether, amidst the screams and boos, the PP-DB will continue to ride the “tram of democracy“ will depend on the stability of their views and the courage of their voters.