"Vazrazhdane" and ITN have long been in the same camp. A few days ago, together they submitted a request for a referendum against the euro. Their union could grow into something more politically significant. By Emilia Milcheva.
A few days ago "Revival" and "There is such a people" (ITN) submitted a request for a referendum against the euro in the 50th Parliament. This is not just a strategic maneuver to mobilize the electorate before the next parliamentary elections. The two parties have been in the same camp for a long time, and their union could grow into something more politically significant. For example, an alliance to be joined by the collapsing BSP, as well as some other ersatz greatness.
Such a union is taking on increasingly clear outlines over the past few parliaments - of national populists, Eurosceptics, sympathizers of Putin. Unlike the European trend, the Bulgarian socialists also find a place in it, whose affiliation to the Party of European Socialists (PES) seems increasingly conditional.
"Revival" takes shape as a natural center as it is the largest of all and they are drawn to its orbit.
This informal agreement covers a wide range of voters - from softer and wavering ones who fear a decrease in their incomes when adopting the euro, to hard and radical ones, for whom preserving the leva is a matter of national sovereignty. BSP, for example, claims that they are not opponents of the single European currency, they just think that its time has not come. This is what ITN also says - Bulgaria should enter when it is ready, and they support "Revival" because they support referendums, as is known.
New pressure
The initiative for the referendum (again) against the euro was launched a year after the 49th National Assembly finally rejected the proposal of the "Revival" to hold a national referendum with the question: "Do you agree that the Bulgarian lev should be the only official currency in Bulgaria until 2043?" Now Kostadin Kostadinov's party, supported by showman Slavi Trifonov's party, again proposes to call a referendum on the same topic.
So the collection of signatures that made "Revival" in early 2023, can be skipped. The reason is that the law allows a referendum to be convened at the request of no less than one-fifth of the people's representatives, that is, 48. The deputies from ITN and "Vazrazhdane" numbering a total of 56. But first the parliament must approve the plebiscite.
Side by side
The assembly between ITN and "Revival" it's not from yesterday. Trifonov's party supported the pro-Russian formation when the parliament voted on July 7, 2023 whether to hold a referendum to postpone the introduction of the euro to 2043, and so did the BSP. Later again ITN and "Revival" asked the Constitutional Court (CC) to annul the decision of the National Assembly, but the CC rejected it.
Again, side by side, the two parties asked the Constitutional Court to repeal the Law on the Ratification of the Financial Contribution Agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Commission, pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2463 of the European Parliament and of the Council. This agreement affects the aid granted to Ukraine and according to it Bulgaria's contribution for the period 2024-2027 is over 13 million euros. By virtue of this agreement, each EU member state is obliged to make the financial tranches available to the EC upon request.
But the CC unanimously rejected the request of ITN and "Revival".
Who opposes
A year ago, PP-DB and all MPs from DPS voted against the referendum, but most people's representatives from GERB abstained. "Revival" they were supported by the BSP and "There is such a people" (ITN).
Given the split in the DPS, it is now unclear how the deputies of the Movement will vote. DPS co-chairman Delyan Peevski, whose resignation honorary chairman Ahmed Dogan recently demanded, was the only leader who spoke out against the ITN referendum initiative and "Revival" with a position in social networks. "For 16 years now, Bulgaria has been pursuing a consistent policy of joining the eurozone and adopting the single European currency, the euro. The DPS categorically stands behind this position and I state that we are against the attempts of the anti-European and pro-Russian parties to play with the subject of a "referendum on the euro", he wrote. Sanctioned again by the USA and Great Britain for corruption, Peevski was the only one to announce publicly that "Vazrazhdane" is a pro-Russian party.
And when "Revival" talked about a coalition in this parliament of everyone against GERB and DPS, initially PP-DB did not reject these ideas. The co-chairman of the PP Kiril Petkov had to specify his position - that negotiations for a government with "Vazrazhdane" are not possible. This mimicry of Kostadinov's party is remarkable considering the support that GERB, DPS and "Vazrazhdane" have found themselves in parliament on various key votes. For example, in the selection of the deputy manager of the NHIF and subsequently imposing him as manager.
Recently "Revival" announced that he intends to request a referendum on leaving NATO - arguing that otherwise the risk increases for Bulgaria, which will become a target in the event of a military conflict between Russia and the NATO countries. Most likely, it will again find unanimous support from the other formations of the Kremlin alliance. The problem is that there is no clear and unified response from the democratic forces - or what is left of them.
For several parliaments, the red lines between the political forces have become deeper. But one line cannot be crossed when negotiating political support for governance - that between pro-European and anti-European parties. Once the ideological differences - "no left, no right" are erased, the values cannot and should not be erased. Otherwise, we remain hostages in the Historical Park.
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This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and of DV as a whole.