Author: Ivaylo Noyzi Tsvetkov
Let's be honest. The only way for the PP and DB to continue to exist as a pronounced right-wing opposition to the moderate left-wing populism of Radev's government is to hit the top ten with their presidential candidate pair. So that she can defeat the eventual PB candidate in a runoff, which for the moment seems to be Iliyana Yotova.
Otherwise, we will end up with an "absolute PB monarchy". But seriously, the overconcentration of power in anyone is not good for the health of democracy.
"Horizontal" candidate, not "one of their"
Regarding Yotova: the very fact that the president of Bulgaria can be a lady seems encouraging, as if we are finally getting out of the quagmire of pre-modern unspoken machismo. The truth is that Yotova is moderate, kind and everything that is required of her. She is trying to build her own "brand", a bit like "mother of the nation" and this is precisely what gives rise to the conversation about who and what type of person should be pitted against her. Of course, with the certain condition that for the moment we still do not know whether she will be the candidate of the PB.
The biggest danger here is that the right-wing candidate will repeat the low parabola of some previous candidacies, the last of which was that of Lozan Panov. There is a difference between good personal qualities in principle and an adequate presidential profile. The risk for them is that the lessons have not been learned and the new candidacy will be expressed as "urban" - "from our". Whether the pair will be Andrey Gyurov/Georgi Kandev is currently pointless to comment on; "patriarch" Ivan Kostov has already nominated Gyurov as his choice, although there are more than one example from the past when he was not the most brilliant personnel officer.
Their chance is that the candidate will be a "horizontal" type, i.e. to seek far broader support than the urban one. He must be "inclusive", not "exclusive" - to tone down the anti-left and anti-communist discourse and to inject a healthy dose of right-wing populism in defense of Euro-Atlanticism. Let us not forget that the presidential candidate is obliged "by passport" to sound inclusive, to wake up and go to bed with phrases like "I will be the president of all Bulgarians, as the Constitution commands", "I will be a unifier" and the like. This can also appear as a counterpoint to Radev's late speech in this role, which was at times overly politicized. The "horizontal" and "inclusive" candidate does not mean Ganyo Balkanski, who "overflows" with bravura character traits, but even less does it mean Gunyo Advokatina, who lacks character at all.
This choice is a majoritarian one
Of course, it is nice to have that almost indefinable thing called "charisma" (the closest to the ancient Greek meaning is "gift of charm", because it is associated with the three charites, paradeities of beauty in mythology). Because the modern candidate should not be just a politician, no matter professional or involuntarily, as Professor Mark Dawson from the University of California reminds us. He or she has to be partly a showman, but at the same time radiate something of statesmanship and willpower.
All this for one simple reason - people in Bulgaria forget that no president can fight structural crises due to their limited powers and are inclined to expect a "savior" by a well-guided reflex. This has already been implanted in the collective mental software to the point of ritualization. Of course, we cannot predict the context in six months or more, but the urban right-wingers should certainly prepare for a scenario like "the absolutization of power and the dangers it poses".
The older democratic imperative dictated that voters were somehow expected to vote for competence. However, I fear that in the conditions of the digital revolution and absolute connectivity, emotional accessibility is rewarded far more, especially when it comes to presidential elections, which are practically majoritarian. In this sense, the future right-wing candidate starts with a handicap, i.e. in emotional accessibility Yotova already leads 1:0. However, I am willing to bet, knowing the thinking on our right, that what is being sought is not an emotional avatar, but the maximum antipode of Yotova, something like the notorious "strong, silent type" in cinema.
"To be both Zhelyu Zhelev and Petar Stoyanov"
There is also another very important unknown - what are GERB's plans, because I don't believe they would support a PP and DB candidate. This means that they will nominate their own and then the situation in the Euro-Atlantic sector becomes dramatic. For no other reason than because I am convinced that there too the ratio moves along the same simplistic model - type "can I describe this person in one sentence". Then we will talk about partial cannibalization, and Ms. Yotova's chances increase immensely.
To summarize: a candidate for president of the democratic community is being sought who is charismatic, articulate, competent (just in case), rationalist, but not a skeptic. He or she must be convincing in terms of the values he or she upholds. Emotional accessibility is an advantage.
And having said "values", Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov: "The candidate must be both like Zhelyu Zhelev and Petar Stoyanov, i.e. to categorically defend Bulgaria's democratic path. Because the context is similar - Zhelev came after 45 years of communism along the BCP-BSP-Moscow axis, and Petar Stoyanov - after the disastrous post-communist rule of Zhan Videnov with a full majority, which Radev currently has."