Comment by Daniel Smilov:< /p>
The newly passed law prohibiting "promoting, promoting or inciting in any way, directly or indirectly, ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or determination of gender identity other than biological" , is a bottomless obscurantism clothed in state power. It is also a political dilemma with potentially great consequences for Bulgaria.
From a moral point of view, this law normalizes violence against Bulgarian citizens and should be a red light for all those who want Bulgaria to remain a free democracy. From a party-political point of view, this law means that GERB and DPS-Peevski are preparing to govern with a "Revival" in the next parliament.
Free democracy is leaving Bulgaria bit by bit
In free democracies, the majority respects the rights of individuals and minorities. Everyone has the right to an autonomous private sphere in which he decides for himself what to do - what his sexual orientation is, for example. And the state respects this choice of the people, without interfering in it and without denigrating any of its citizens as "non-traditional" and almost unwelcome aliens in the native culture. In non-free democracies, according to the successful expression of one of ours, let's say, a politician, "if the majority decides, everyone will wear green pants". Well, the majority in the National Assembly made a decision that intrudes into the private sphere of individuals in a similar way.
It is very important to understand that it is about the free choice of people, which in principle can be limited only if it harms another. The newly adopted law actually states that a certain sexual orientation is "harmful" - and especially "harmful" for teenagers. This is essentially discrimination based on sexual orientation, which is prohibited under both our constitution and European law. The smallest problem is that, like Hungary, we will come into conflict with the EU institutions. The big problem is that free democracy is gradually leaving Bulgaria.
Minority rights are not some Western trick that we can quickly deal with on home soil. The rights of sexual minorities, for example, were not given to them with the idea that one day they would all become homosexual or "gender" on the disgusting Bulgarian novogovor, which was adopted even by the Constitutional Court with its decisions regarding "gender ideology". Sexual minorities are precisely minorities that cannot be protected by voting alone. And when aggressive majorities come to power - as in the case in our country, the showdown with these minorities begins and laws are passed on who should wear what kind of underwear and what gender they should orient themselves to. Therefore, constitutional restrictions on the majority are necessary to tame it in its desire to impose its views as eternal, traditional, autochthonous and only correct. Traditions, of course, must be respected. But this does not mean to forbid and deny everything that deviates from them. This is already violence.
It is no exaggeration that free democracy in Bulgaria is in danger. Plans to cancel it are very real. In the party and household aspect, Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski realized that they will not be able to manage the country by themselves - and that is why they are now looking for a partner for a new majority. With PP-DB, things have already ended, because it became clear that GERB and Peevski have no intention of making changes in the judiciary, not to mention "changing their model". of management. The new thing is that Borisov seems already terribly dependent on Peevski and it is not clear how autonomous his decisions are. But that is unimportant.
When GERB was in coalition with the "patriots" in the period 2017-2021, one of the "concessions" made to them by Borisov was regarding the Istanbul Convention. Then he hid behind the deeply problematic decision of the SC, which is responsible for the imposition of "anti-gender" ideology as official in the country. Such a thing is expressly prohibited by the constitution: art. 11 (2) "No political party or ideology can be declared or asserted as state-owned". But despite this, the SC announced the "anti-gender ideology" for the only correct and permissible one in the country.
Today GERB and DPS-Peevski are openly reaching out to "Vazrazhdane" and to some extent also to BSP and ITN. In the next parliament, Borisov will clearly be a "conservative". and will pray that Trump will win in the USA - that way he will be able to rule with a new majority, and Washington will not lose many in Bulgarian dirty shirts.
What will remain of the Bulgarian free democracy after a possible government of GERB, Peevski and "Vazrazhdane"? Probably a little. Even if we somehow accept that the membership of the Eurozone would slip through, it will be "traded" from "Revival" at a very high cost in terms of issues related to the rights of individuals and minorities, as well as other aspects of the country's integration into the EU. The copying of laws from Putin's dictatorship will surely continue and Bulgaria will little by little become something in between Turkey and Hungary.
This time the luxury of not voting will come at a very high price
The violence discussed above will not remain only at the legal and abstract level. There will probably be trials against people violating the newly adopted bans - and we may end up with political prisoners who allowed themselves to share something on Facebook. After all, in Russia there are people in prison for social media posts.
"Revival" have already formed as the shock squad - a kind of blackjackets - of the new "traditional-conservative" majority. Their behavior in parliament has long been beyond propriety, but it no longer excludes physical confrontation with opponents on the sidelines. The question is not whether it is theater or not. Theater with elements of violence also normalizes violence.
Borisov, of course, will not participate in the verbal and, God forbid, physical fights inside and outside the parliament. He will wisely try to "balance" between the radicals of the "Revival" and some form of political normalcy. Any such balance is itself problematic, however. How Peevski will behave and what his new beginning will be - we have to see.
Those who value free democracy now have a real chance to protect it - it really needs it. Protests are one option and should be used. But much more important is voting. Because this time the luxury of not voting will come at a very high price and will lead to a government that will forcibly drive free democracy out of Bulgaria.