For every left-oriented Bulgarian, especially for the members and sympathizers of #BSP, the estimated results of Markets Links are disturbing, sad and even startling, that #BSP is the last of the parties represented in parliament with an electoral support of 5.3% of voters .
Inevitably, everyone asks the question – how and why #BSP got here. From a leading and even monopoly political force at the beginning of the restructuring in Bulgaria in 1989, to be the last party represented in parliament, with the risk of not even entering the next parliament in the next possible elections.
The shortest and most general answer is probably: Because #BSP after Lilov failed to continue its transformation and renewal, to break with its past, to actually become a real progressive, democratic social democratic European party. It failed to convince the public that it has become a party fighting for a modern legal welfare state, with democratic institutions, with the rule of law, with a clear direction and full commitment and integration with the EU.
At the same time that #BSP failed to transform itself, gradually the attitudes of Bulgarians became more and more clearly oriented towards the EU, towards democratic values, towards the rule of law and the rule of law. #BSP lagged behind public attitudes and became a party of the past instead of being a party of the future and of young people.
During Videnov's time, #BSP tried to stop socio-economic changes for the adoption of market economic relations in Bulgaria. Which caused hyperinflation, impoverishment and the BSP catastrophically lost public authority.
The rampant corruption during the time of Kostov and the Tsar, the failure of the SDS in imposing democratic values in Bulgaria and relying only on anti-communism, turned the public's hopes towards the BSP. Because #BSP and the assets of the Party during the time of Videnov were NOT CARRIERS of corrupt practices.
The BSP took over the government of Bulgaria, through the #triple coalition between the BSP, NDSV and DPS with Minister Pr. Stanishev, after the SDS and NDSV, which had become the founders of corruption in Bulgaria. But unfortunately, this management of the triple coalition has become synonymous with even greater corruption than that during the time of Kostov and the Tsar - through appropriation of public funds by the rulers, division of the portions between BSP, NDSV and DPS. In the next elections, the public mostly punished BSP and NDSV. The NDSV disappeared from the political scene, and the BSP has not been able to recover since then and is constantly losing public support. The management was taken over by the new party GERB, which appeared with the slogan of fighting corruption of the triple coalition – BSP, NDSV and DPS.
Cornelia Ninova's contribution is indisputable, that she did not allow interaction with GERB, as many cadres of BSP insisted on, and BSP at least remained as an opposition and alternative to GERB. Because if it weren't for this policy of Ninova, the BSP would probably have disappeared, just as the SDS and the NDSV disappeared.
But despite the BSP remaining as the only opposition party and an alternative to GERB, the necessary reforms were not carried out in the Party, through which to instill confidence in the public, that the BSP has a vision, potential and strategy to deal with corruption, to modernize Bulgaria- As a change to the proportional electoral system, through which permanent negative selection of politicians was imposed, the necessary changes for improvements in the judicial system, in health care, education and, in principle, in all public spheres.
The divergence of the BSP's policy with respect to public attitudes and expectations for strong integration with Europe was particularly strong after the start of the war in Ukraine. Gradually, the division in Bulgaria and on the issue of Europe became clear – Russia and Eurasia, except on the corruption-anti-corruption axis.
Despite the historical gratitude of the Bulgarians to Russia for our liberation and despite the fact that the majority of Bulgarians are Russophiles and love the Russian people and culture, the Bulgarians distinguished Russophilism from Putinophileism and authoritarianism in Russia.
Slogan raised by BSP – not a single patron for Ukraine, clearly emphasizing the BSP's political orientation externally, threw the BSP to potential sympathizers and voters, who were only 20% of the voters. But this electorate was also targeted by Vazrazhdane, which much more aggressively and categorically than BSP proclaimed the exit of Bulgaria from the EU and NATO and the accession to Russia and BRICS. With this, they naturally attracted the majority of the 20% Putinophile electorate. BSP was doomed to receive a low public rating .
The BSP also erred in becoming a conservative and nationalist party, opposing the Istanbul Convention and the PES. The left parties in the world and Europe, as consisting of the most progressive and democratic strata of society, are generally the biggest defenders of the rights of the different, the socially weak and rejected and fight for their rights. This also limited the electoral base of BSP and overlapped it with that of Vazrazhdane, VMRO, ITN and other nationalist and patriotic parties. Pushed away the progressive part of the Bulgarians from the BSP. This allowed the PP to take traditional positions of the BSP and attract an electorate who are generally left-wing and the most natural sympathizers and members of the BSP.
BSP, throughout the entire period of crises in Bulgaria since 1989, never once took a progressive and courageous position that the big problem of our constant failures are the weaknesses in the constitution, which must be changed. The BSP always takes a conservative position, that nothing should be changed and that the old way of fighting should be continued, that the constitution adopted by the Supreme Court should not be touched.
BSP could and should, as the oldest party with the most experienced personnel, already at the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 21st century, after the failures and weaknesses of the functioning of Bulgaria after the administrations of Videnov, Kostov, Tsaria were noticed and Stanishev, resulting from the proportional electoral system, the way the prosecutor's office and in general the law enforcement system, education, health care and local self-government function, to be the initiator and engine for change and modernization of Bulgaria and to attract progressive and young people.
Disastrous and incomprehensible to everyone, the latest seditions in the BSP between Ninova and the deputies and . No one understood and does not understand why Ninova's former deputies, who for years were her assistants, followers, co-creators, colleagues and most of all her supporters and defenders, who implemented the decisions made in the BSP, in a day after her resignation became one of the biggest her supporters, her biggest opponents and even enemies. AND THEY EXCLUDED HER FROM BSP!
Their behavior after Ninova's resignation should have been completely different. To keep their respect and reverence for Ninova and, together with Ninova, civilly organize the election of a new Chairman of the BSP, with whom the BSP will have a chance to move forward.
The behavior of the entire NA of the BSP is also incomprehensible and strange. While Ninova was the Chairman, the National Assembly always voted almost without opposition to all the proposals of the leadership. And after the resignation, he started voting for everything again, but this time against Ninova.
These unprincipled and incomprehensible seditions in the BSP are already bearing their poisonous fruits and the BSP, from a public rating of around 7%, has already fallen to 5%. But unfortunately, they will bear their poisonous fruits in the future and the BSP's rating may drop even more.
Especially if the signals of Ninova, and in recent days also of the new old coalition partners Slavchev, T. Doncheva, G. Kadiev and others turn out to be true, that the new leadership has undertaken a policy of rapprochement with GERB and DPS - a new beginning in the name of participation in future management. This will destroy the BSP, and if the BSP enters the 51st parliament as the last political force with about 5%, it will not be represented in the 52nd parliament.
Senseless coalitions of 20-30 parties, which have been a tradition in the BSP since the time of Parvanov, will not help. Which have as their main goal conducting an unprincipled personnel policy towards BSP activists. And in the current case, they also have a second main goal, to cover up the dividing lines that appeared between Ninova and her deputies, which apparently also affected the overall rating of the BSP.
Despite the indecision to transform the BSP and turn it into a normal European social democratic party, which has as its ideal, goal and program public relations in the Scandinavian countries or at least in the central European countries, where socialism has long been imposed as a social norm, Ninova has a huge credit to the BSP for moving the BSP away from the corrupt practices that were the emblem of the BSP at the time of the triple coalition and the Oresharski cabinet. With this, Ninova preserved the BSP and created a basis for stopping the decline, for pushing off the bottom and future development, with the correct policy of the President elected after her resignation.
Despite the difficult situation in which the BSP has fallen, despite the fact that the forecasts put it in last place among the parties represented in the parliament, despite the strongly proclaimed left unity, despite the open new fronts between the deputies of Ninova and Ninova, there are still hopes for the BSP until conducting the elections for the chairman and the Congress of the Party.
I offer to the attention of all pro-European democratic socialists and coalition partners, as well as the various leading factors in the BSP and the coalition parties, the idea of a true unification of all left-wing pro-European parties and members, such as:
- BSP and the leaderships of all parties, participants in the left unification, to decide at their leadership forums to unite in a single party.
- The parties of the coalition to issue a coalition council, which will make all decisions for all coalition parties. Each party should have proportional members based on its proven membership mass with membership cards and paid membership fees. Decisions to be binding for all parties participating in the coalitions .
- The Coalition Council to adopt the main strategies, policies and programs of the NEW UNITED LEFT PARTY.
- To register all primary party organizations of all coalition parties before the coalition council.
- The primary party organizations from all parties in the coalition should elect common municipal leaders.
- The newly elected municipal leaders at a general forum to elect a new coalition council and the Chairman of the coalition council.
- The newly elected coalition council to draft a statute, based on the initial program of the first coalition council.
- To convene a congress with representatives of all municipal managements and to adopt a statute, program and all founding documents for the NEW UNITED LEFT PARTY.
- If the statute provides for the President to be elected directly, a methodology should be adopted and the President should be elected directly, with all interested parties having the right to apply, including Ninova.
If the statute provides for the Chairman to be elected by a congress in which all municipal managements participate, all those who have expressed an interest in running should have the right to be elected again.
If, faced with the threat of the left not being represented in the parliament, the majority of the left parties in Bulgaria unite, this will be a new and great chance for the left in Bulgaria. Against the background of the failure of the PP, the party that will implement the change in Bulgaria is special.
Every crisis is also an opportunity. The prediction that the BSP will be the last party represented in parliament is an assessment of the fatal crisis in which the BSP is. If, in the face of this crisis, all left-oriented people do not join hands, including Ninova with Zafirov and Gutsanov and all pro-European coalition partners, and bold and even unconventional decisions are not taken to save the left in Bulgaria, it is quite realistic in the next or in the next parliament, the LEFT won't have representation, and for the uncertain future, the hope remains to establish a NEW LEFT PRO-EUROPEAN, DEMOCRATIC SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, which will work for the modernization of Bulgaria. This historic delay will be a loss for the left in Bulgaria and for Bulgaria.
Dr. Sabina Petkanska-Valeva
05.10.2024
Merged