Mafiosi like Joe Colombo and Carlo Gambino dreamed of integrating their educated people into the state itself. And in Bulgaria, it happened that the mafia clans served their country on a baking sheet. By Ivaylo Noisey Tsvetkov.
You probably remember the famous phrase of Joe Colombo (head of the Colombo clan in the 1960s and 1970s, one of the five New York mafia families) in court: "Mafia? What mafia?!? There is no such thing". The expression could also pass for aphoristic, as long as its author was not surrounded by a dark criminal fame - therefore it is actually both funny, impudent and deeply cynical. Recently, I've been delving again into the history of "cosa nostra", "our (Italian) thing", even re-reading some of the serious research on the "five fingers of the Devil's hand" (as the families in question have been called since the days of Lucky Luciano, the Gambinos, Lepke Buchalter, Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel). And I recall this: most of these people quite seriously believed that they had built themselves up by turning the system into a kind of elite, a kind of state within the state, in which there is also a kind of code of dishonor, although they think of it as a code of honor. They are not the first, but due to the wide pop culture coverage (especially in the cinema) it seems that their deep cultural prejudice starts from there – that making their own rules and making huge profits make them a kind of elite, albeit a shadowy one.
Will the Bulgarian "elite" the test?
Then I thought about why we call today's Bulgarian political class the "elite" with such persistence. The elite, since Enlightenment times, should be mostly cultural/artistic – an unspoken group of people who, notice, have a contribution in both the abstract and the very concrete sense of the word.
People who make/build, not destroy society for their own benefit.
People who create mental or artistic patterns and strike the flint of a soul spark that ignites and lifts the masses to a higher floor, not people who – figuratively – have transferred the tavern or street beating to the field of politics.
Guess if our current political class, almost without exception, passes this sort of cultural test.
A gathering of pure opportunists
No, I just can't stand it – I reached into the endless treasure trove of cultural references and thought of two things: first, Shakespeare's "Henry VI" and the series "Heritage". What, in my opinion, gave birth to them? Very simple – in both cases it is about people who are supposed (by rank or wealth) to be elite, but they are not up to the task of any elite. I will also offer it to you in English, for more clarity – these are eternal tales of the elite bickering and squabbling and getting everything wrong. I.e. the back story of an elite who are mainly busy bickering with each other, bickering endlessly, and in the end always messing up, because the practical final or temporary result is nothing. Not even anything and a half.
Is it familiar to you, especially in the last few years, if you follow the Bulgarian political situation?
I have some explanation why. The Bulgarian political "elite" not only is it not elite, it is a 90 percent collection of pure opportunists. To some extent, it is almost everywhere, but we, in our tiny field (which no longer interests anyone, except for the morning blocks and paid formats on national television), seem to be European champions at least. Add in the perfidious new status quo in the media (especially in the last decade), which has thrown out the form of debating between leaders with somewhat Mephistophelian relish. And be completely honest with yourself, that's key – they, the political elite, this persistent phrase, de facto kicked you out of the electoral process.
"Say, friend, do you want something from me"
This is not at all some ridiculous cry for non-voters, God forbid. I can already hear the absurdist counter-argument of the "where are we going to get a new political elite" type. I will only say this: the more we don't believe that something can change through an organized protest, the more we concrete the deep state. Joe Colombo, Carlo Gambino and even the fictional character Vito Corleone dreamed of integrating their educated people into the state itself; and with us it happened that the three or four mafia clans (I think you know them) served the country on a baking sheet. And now they are like the Earl of Suffolk in "Henry VI" – they seem to ask, "say, my friend, do you want anything from me,", especially when voices are to be bought or incorporated. Or like Tom from "Heritage" yelling, "Greg, we're not in the fucking world of Charles Dickens, okay?" Don't talk to me about principles. Are you manning up a bit".
The conclusion is that the Bulgarian political elite has no reason to call itself an elite, as long as it continues to be "cosa nostra", ours, but actually theirs. Or "our thing", as they call it in Scorsese's films and in "The Sopranos".
This is the very truth, and whether and how you will vote is none of my business.
My job is to try to outline something culturally very important – for a thousand reasons, only one of which is the completely parallel world of the "Alpha" generation. (and which can vote for the first time); we still maintain or are offered absolute randoms posing as elite.
From the one with "The Master and Margarita" to the complete and conscious refusal of reading or basic acculturation.
When the elite become "elite"
But, if you allow something almost Udialanov, there is also good news – the fact that it can also be stolen from culture (not that we don't know about the schemes through the "Culture" Fund, etc.) is perhaps a kind of white Jobkovo swallow. This is when the elite becomes "elite" and we seem to be masters of it.
But seriously: what's the way forward, you ask. I have no idea. All I know is that compared to Joe Colombo, our current political class can teach him a lot of things, including how to steal from the state. Now you no longer need to integrate your own or vice versa, this game between state and mafia like in the classic mafia times – In our country, those appointed to government jobs and, above all, appointed businessmen, do they deduct, deduct.
And you still consider politicians the "elite", while their crushing regulations hinder or outright fail your business.
Especially if you are a foreign investor, but not only.
As they say in mob movies, va fanculo.
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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 DV as a whole.