"Iliyana Yotova brought out the heavy artillery", notes TAC and quotes the president's words to an audience in Varna that there were many warmongers in Bulgaria, but she herself was not one of them. The country did not need a "coalition of the willing", but a "coalition for peace" in Ukraine. "As long as I am president, not a single Bulgarian soldier will go to Ukraine", Yotova announced, unfazed by the fact that no one has ever made such a demand, writes Barbara Yortel, who closely follows the political processes in Bulgaria.
Populist rhetoric
The German journalist commented on Yotova's statement as "populist rhetoric devoid of facts" and noted that this rhetoric, however, seems to be well received by the public on the eve of the presidential elections on October 25. The article also cites the latest public opinion polls, according to which Yotova will probably not be able to win in the first round, but will most likely win the runoff.
In a brief biographical note about the 61-year-old candidate, the German publication recalls when and how Yotova's political career began: in 1997, she joined the Bulgarian Socialist Party BSP - “a traditionally Russophile party that has never managed to shake off its outdated image and is a politically declining force”, TAC points out.
"A loyal soldier of the party"
The publication recalls that in 2016, former military officer Rumen Radev won the presidential elections with the support of the BSP and chose Yotova - as a loyal soldier of the party - as his vice president. Since then, Radev's sympathies for Russian President Vladimir Putin have been an open secret, writes Barbara Yortel.
The author also commented on Yotova's “strange behavior” in 2018, when on the Bulgarian national holiday of March 3, she knelt before the Russian Patriarch Kirill. “The photo showing her kneeling at his feet will become a shameful symbol of yet another disgrace for the Bulgarian state,” the Bulgarian website Faktor.bg wrote at the time, Barbara Yortel recalls.
"Viktor Orbán in a skirt"
Furthermore, “Tageszeitung" also mentions the scandalous story of Vice President Yotova pardoning drug lord Ognyan Atanasov, who was caught with drugs again three years later.
Yotova herself defines the topic raised last month by the opposition as a personal attack against her and claims that the pardon was completely transparent. “But such a definition fits more with her orientation towards Russia” – writes Barbara Yortel and calls Yotova “Viktor Orban in a skirt”, predicting that together with Prime Minister Radev she will probably cause Brussels quite a few headaches.
Source: www.dw.com