Ms. Steinaker, why do you think Bulgaria is in this permanent crisis of democracy?
Steinacker: The reason is the crisis of democracy itself! People obviously do not believe that the parties and the ruling party can solve the problems that the country has. Obviously, the strongest party in recent years, which also won these elections, GERB, has great difficulty forming a coalition.
You describe a vicious circle: people are disappointed, voter turnout is low, fragmented parliaments arise, and politicians cannot form a stable government precisely because of this.
Steinacker: You can definitely say that. However, if the two parties with the most votes come together in a coalition, they will be able to form a coalition government with a little more help from smaller parties. But, as we see in Germany, such coalitions are an extremely difficult task. And the distrust between the first two parties is too high, especially on the part of the democratic pro-Western alliance, which came in second place - distrust against the GERB, which has ruled for so long.
If they still manage to agree - on what basis can they stand, in your opinion?
Steinacker: On the pro-Western course and the clear position regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Of course, the economy also plays an important role. In fact, economically Bulgaria does not look so bad at all. In recent years, the country has continued to develop - it may be slow, but it is moving forward economically.
This brings us to a topic on which you have had in-depth observations since you were deputy ambassador in Sofia: corruption, crime, organized crime, criminal networks of influence. On election night, a number of observers said it: judicial reform, the need to reform the Supreme Judicial Council and the Prosecutor General's Office are the cornerstones of a future coalition in Sofia. Do you share this opinion? Why is justice so important?
Steinacker: Because justice in Bulgaria was captured and is still partly kidnapped, it is a hostage of those forces that rule Bulgaria from behind the scenes. These are oligarchs, tycoons, who in the years of transition accumulated a lot of money and, accordingly, power. They often build on their accumulations from the time of the communist secret services, their connections with Russia, their later ties with Russian oligarchs. So we can definitely talk about a “deep state“. As far as I remember in April, Kiril Petkov said exactly this in an interview: that the government does not actually hold power.
This “deep state“ is probably keeping a number of unpleasant facts, perhaps even crimes, under wraps, it prevents the truths from coming to light – you will often hear this in Bulgaria. What truths, what facts are we talking about, in your opinion?
Steinacker: I will mention the numerous scandals that few reliable journalists and media outlets write about. I can mention, for example, BIRD.bg, an organization that cooperates with “Transparency International“ and with international projects to combat corruption. We are talking about investigations that prove, for example, that huge amounts of European money have been squandered in Bulgaria - through corruption, and even through criminal networks. Each of these cases should in principle lead to investigations and eventually to convictions, but such a thing does not happen. Yes, sometimes investigations are conducted, sometimes it even leads to indictments, but then everything seems to sink into the sand. The truth is never reached, because behind the perpetrators, who are sometimes even named, there are other people hiding. But this is not a purely Bulgarian phenomenon, the same thing happens in other former communist countries. In Slovakia, they revealed and convicted the murderer of the journalist and his girlfriend, but the guarantor remains unknown to this day.
You said that behind these wastes and crimes in Bulgaria there are other people hiding. Who are these “other persons“?
Steinaker: Who are these other persons? Well, these are these rich, very rich people who partly keep their money not in Bulgaria, but in various offshore accounts, but they definitely operate in Bulgaria and do not want to adhere to the law and the laws. In Bulgaria, profits are still privatized, and the costs remain at the expense of society.
Do you mean people like Vasil Bozhkov or even active politicians who in Bulgaria are said to be part of the oligarchic model?
Steinaker: Yes, including politicians who are now active again. Peevski's name is constantly mentioned in such a context, but also the name of his so-called former “boss“ Dogan. It is known that Peevski is often talked about in the context of corruption and even criminal acts.
You were also ambassador to present-day North Macedonia and are closely monitoring the relations between Sofia and Skopje, which are again in crisis. Do you think that the election results in Bulgaria can somehow help to overcome this crisis?
Steinaker: Rather not. Of course, we should never say “never”. But in Skopje, the party that brought relations with Bulgaria into such a crisis is back in power. The same was true with Greece, by the way, but for now that crisis seems to have been partially overcome. This party is pursuing a policy that looks back on the past and claims serious parts of Bulgarian history. Of course, one can always argue about what is Bulgarian and what is Macedonian history, but nevertheless this extremely nationalist party, which was also very corrupt and criminal (and now has to prove that it is no longer) is back in power today. I do not see any change in its nationalism, so it will be very difficult to get out of this dead end that the two countries have found themselves in with joint efforts. Bulgaria with its veto, which in my opinion was not justified, especially since at that moment in power in Skopje it was a party ready for compromises. That moment was missed, now in Skopje the nationalists are in power again and the question is whether they will be willing to reach a compromise with Bulgaria in the name of their voters. In this regard, the EU has a very important role.
And the Bulgarian nationalists? “Vazrazhdane“ gathered serious support in these elections.
Steinacker: It is worrying. But let's say that with a voter turnout below 40%, the results can hardly be considered representative. Thank God, “Vazrazhdane“ did not become the second political force, but their result nevertheless raises concerns. No matter how unrepresentative the results of the elections in Bulgaria are, the success of this extremely nationalist, but mostly pro-Russian party may suggest something about the attitudes in the country. There are these supporters of Russia in Bulgaria – and they vote for the party that shares their views.
Is this threat real or is the Western media exaggerating it a bit?
Steinacker: It is quite real! Moreover, it is also present in Germany – see Ms. Wagenknecht and “Alternative for Germany“. This threat is quite real in Bulgaria, and on top of that Bulgaria is also more unstable as a country compared to Germany. And Russian influence in Bulgaria has much deeper roots, it has never subsided, and parts of the Bulgarian elites have always supported it. Let us just remember that the communist secret services in Bulgaria were something like a subdivision of the Soviet secret services. These things do not change overnight.
And finally: what are your expectations and predictions for Bulgaria?
Steinaker: I will say rather what I hope for. I would like the forces of reason (and they exist, although perhaps not so numerous) in GERB to come together with the other pro-European parties and say: Now we must form a government; this requires compromises, but in any case we must continue on the path of legal reforms, for the good of the country. Yes, they must focus on the idea of the good of the country and its citizens. And, as I said, there are such politicians - even in several parties - and I would like them to realize that they have an important historical task.
Alexander Andreev talks to Gudrun Steinaker.