The early Radev is a cross between the early Kiril Petkov and the late Boyko Borisov.
The common denominator between the three is that when things don't go well, they need a person, with Radev, probably people, with handcuffs.
I know how it was with Kiril Petkov.
Because he knew perfectly well that Borisov's arrest could not “last” more than 24 hours, he needed to be ostentatious, but very ostentatious.
According to eyewitness accounts, because I wasn't there, when Borisov was arrested, the big battle was not only to convince the police authorities, led by the minister, of the necessity and, note, the legality of the arrest, but also to have Borisov taken out in handcuffs.
Kiki needed this at the time, because things with the government weren't going well at all and the population needed to be offered some entertainment.
And the population had fun for a whole 24 hours, after which they quietly released Borisov. Then we remember...
Under the late Borisov, the government was also not going very well.
Things began to unravel, and then he would curse those who did not comply with him, both live and through his followers, and this, through his relatives /and probably not exactly like-minded people/, would take on the character of distributed recordings, designed to please the population.
Of course, we should not forget the showy arrests /one of which ended with a conviction/ of Desislava Ivancheva, the mayor of Nessebar, Ivanov, and the former minister Neno Dimov, which quite logically ended with no convictions.
And in general, we got a little used to it when it became difficult for the government to supply the population with bread, to offer them pastries.
Borisov's message at the time was that it was not healthy to run for independent mayor. Radev now thinks that it is not healthy to be a mayor not of the PB.
The methods are different, the root cause is always the same – a falling rating.
And I wonder now what these arrests of mayors in handcuffs /for now by one political force/ show?
Is it because they couldn't strike, something didn't work out with the flights, that they want to bleed Peevski himself out of his entourage by demonstratively taking someone out in handcuffs, whom they will most likely release in a day or two.
And what exactly is this about handcuffs? A spectacle, a distribution of justice, or just a pastime?
Because taking them out in handcuffs, except in the case of Ivancheva and Borisov, when it was supposed to play a role in relieving public tension, otherwise taking them out in handcuffs is supposed to have a motive. And the motive is in the law - handcuffs can be used if there is a legal basis, for example, a danger that the person will escape, resist, attack someone or hurt themselves.
Such circumstances were not present with Ivancheva, they were not present at all with Borisov /there they dreamed of chaining up poor Sevda to serve as an example/ and they are not present at all with the mayor of Belitsa.
But... the weapon is not drawn for the first time.
That case is unforgettable when they arrested him, he won the elections from prison, they took him out in handcuffs and took them off for a moment so he could sign the sworn declaration for election as mayor, and put them back on.
Are the clouds thickening and is public support for Radev wavering?
I don't think so. The countdown may have begun, but that's how we counted communism 45 years back.
Yes, there are probably some hesitations in the opinion of people who simply voted for Radev out of enthusiasm, but their second thinking is a little more like that than the first.
There is probably disappointment among some of Radev's voters who expected an economic miracle /they deserve the miracle that came/.
Probably the extremely pro-Russian citizens /there are not a few/ who were “kidnapped” from Radev voters of “Vazrazhdane“, to whom Radev's position on world politics seems unacceptable, just as it is completely unacceptable to pro-European citizens, but with an opposite sign.
They made him the first protest, he must prepare for more and more.
But is he in crisis? No, he is categorically not.
Yes, maybe he will find himself in crisis when he presents his budget and we see that there are no /but absolutely no/ reforms, there is a fattening of the administration and squeezing out of business. If this is the case, it could end up in a crisis if the upcoming autumn bills /and they will/ prove to be unbearable for the urban and rural population and real social tension arises. It could end up in a crisis if the already confused healthcare system is further complicated by ill-considered quasi-reforms and ultimately becomes even more expensive and inaccessible for the people. Is Radev nervous? Quite a lot. This is evident from the completely anti-logical way in which he comments on the protests and their organizers. Protests are a form of democratic reaction and should be accepted as such, without provoking something like a hysterical reaction in those in power.
In the context of this - is it right to take incumbent mayors out in handcuffs for an investigation into public procurement?
This question boils down to this: is it right, when we can't give the population bread, to give them pasta?
I'm a fool and I don't know the answer to this question.
In conclusion, I'll tell the scumbags and the scumbags... no, I don't work for Peevski, just as I didn't work for Borisov when I told you
/back then/ that his arrest was a giant stupidity.