ITN comes from that socio-cultural environment in which the highest value is to fix your life through politics. I know this thieving urge, I have heard it dozens of times, writes Ivaylo Noyzi Tsvetkov about the collapse of Slavi's party.
For 4 years now we have had the honor – and the inimitable joy – to observe Slavi Trifonov in politics. Sometimes the joy was mixed with pure fun (which he believes he was born for anyway), sometimes – with pure dysthymia and a sad reflection on the dreams of a kind of jester of many kings, who, however, has always felt within himself the strength to become king himself.
Why not a jester with whom he tried to invade public affairs after 24 years of show, but this is more of a sketch. “Sketch“ actually it is a bit of a redundant foreign word, it means something like a draft drawing for a future painting (from the medieval Italian „schizzo“, hence „sketch“), but in our country we use it for a short parody joke.
Which, alas, one of the kings of sketches himself became - the moment he burst into politics with a joke.
The truth is that Slavi Trifonov, may he be alive and well for many more years to entertain you (already through proxies like Toshko), was preparing for politics with his cuckoo-like overambition while still a martenitsa seller in some underpass. Everything - and the crude irony of the first level on bTV, and the relatively good hive mind of the scriptwriters, already turned into deputies, and the tearful, semi-pop, poorly sung music with excessive grand gestures - was simply a step towards the crowning of the Tryphon case: his anabasis to power.
A quick catabasis - for the failure of the ITN
Which in no time turned into a catabasis, i.e. the descent into Hell of the 6 percent and the 18 deputies. I don't remember the whole story, but in the spring of 2021 the ITN were second (the one with the chess player Antoaneta Stefanova for prime minister, which to this day seems like a move under the threat of a zug-zwang), and in the summer of the same year they even became first. And this should have been the star moment, like “with you (the people) we will fit like vodka with fresh“: i.e. everything, the referendums, the entire Tryphon ratio wanted exactly that. Every laugh of “Ku-ku“ and “Kanalet“, every somehow obligatory friendship with pussies and “multi“, every poorly educated rumbling on bTV as a presenter should have led to this peculiar Everest of his complex, tiring towards certain sponsors, but still amazing career.
However, yes, you have to be somewhat prepared socioculturally for such a moment – “the people“ give you all the power, but you set insurmountable conditions, you are self-enchanted, you don't listen to the smartest screenwriters in the hive like Ivaylo Valchev, and somehow you leave the impression that your politics is as if you were going to choose a new ballerina for “Magadance“. And right here the decade-long irony ended. To turn from a new white shark into a small and toxic jellyfish “irukandji“ is probably not a big deal. But, as Ecclesiastes teaches us, no one is to blame - the words of the wise are like thorns, may the sad "fairy tale" of the ITN nudge you towards rational voting.
For no other reason than because you can't half-jokes your whole life (ask Dilov-son) - at some point you need serious expertise, which the ITN have never had, despite their desperate attempt to hire such. Slavi put everything in black, and it - as usual in our country - came out red.
In other words, with one sentence from Aleko - you're not simple, but you're falling a little bit into a jam. And something else numinous, if you allow it - "Slavi and the opposition - but hey, hey!" („Numinous“ is when the ancient Roman faces an irresistible spiritual force, especially against power.)
Extremely cynical approach to politics
But the failure of ITN is somewhat amusing – the ruthless conjunctural spillover from right to left is indicative. Today, ITN, which started by supporting right-wing economic measures, is now the type of state that gives, and gives, and, damn it, „expert government“.
I somewhat like the pop-cultural TV legacy of Slavi (unfairly called „Çalgarya“), but I do not like his extremely cynical approach to politics, and accordingly, my heart does not bleed in the least for the shrinking of this party to „will we enter parliament“. And I'll tell you why right away: if your general idea of politics is to monetize it, along with the nationalist, with a little pinch of left-wing colored salt, you deserve to be eliminated from the race. I'm only angry for the sensible people who believed in this Trifon "scheme", after which there is nothing but Toshko's screams.
Slavi longed to be a kind of Odysseus, who cunningly stabs the Cyclops Polyphemus in the only eye, i.e. the system, but in the end he remained a prisoner in the cave. And the Polyphemusites slowly ate everything, i.e. the popular support since the referendums and in general his idea of "people's democracy". But there is no one to blame here in ITN - they, I understand, simply and naively believed that through their media influence they could take over the state.
And Slavi Trifonov himself, when he was really advised by smart people like Ivaylo Valchev and Siromakhov, was more than wonderful in October 1999, I will immediately quote something from my interview with him for "Egoist": "When I overthrew Videnov, I was a blue fascist, and now I am red trash. Only "dirty Bulgarian" they haven't called me yet. And that's exactly what I am - I'm a dirty, nasty Bulgarian." Here you hear both the former rebel from "Hushove" and the future overtones of the stubborn, unenlightened nationalism that ITN sometimes professes. Back then, we didn't know about the problem with Macedonia (which, by the way, I consider "dirty and nasty" Bulgarian, because I come from there), but most of all, we didn't assume that this problem would become something like a political springboard for certain parties. And specifically for ITN.
Sad: small again after being big
If you understand politics as a kind of future monetization of group efforts, in the end you only see in the mirror the people to whom you have subordinated your big idea. Think about this.
But more importantly culturally: ITN, i.e. today's pale couch zombie Slavi, comes from a socio-cultural environment in which the highest value is to fix your life through politics; I know this thieving urge, I've heard it dozens of times. This same environment of his is strictly and unshakably Russophile, the hero city of Pleven, the monument in Moscow to the heroes against Osman Pasha, etc. The ITN themselves do not dare to declare themselves as indispensable Russophiles, only because they are waiting to see how events in Ukraine will develop after Trump. My personal suspicion is that certain "red-haired" oligarchs are behind them. For what reason?
And after the fiasco in the summer of 2021 (the title above is a reference to the book “She Danced One Summer“ by Per Olof Ekström), now the narrow opportunity before ITN is to join a new four-way coalition as the shortest phallus.
It's sad. But not very.
And the world of Slavi, our incredible TV personality, is not pleasant - he sits somewhere in a leather jacket and spews outbursts written by other people on Face; I imagine how difficult, somehow really sad it is to become small again, when for a moment you were really big.
And to literally have to bow before the newest aga. It's like the Anaxagoras scales of life – ITN has no choice but to sing by ear again, in the pub of the future.
And to remember the only missed chance, because there will be no second one.
And Slavi wanted it, he wanted it. It's sad, but not very much.
And so on.
*** This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and the State News Agency as a whole.