The aggressive outbursts of Tsoncho Ganev and "Vazrazhdane" discredit the parliament and increase apathy and cynicism among the people. “They are not being harassed because they are strong”, some think. The truth is different: because they are useful to someone.
The Deputy Chairman of “Vazrazhdane” Tsoncho Ganev has no place as Deputy Chairman of the 51st National Assembly because of his “local” behavior, which disqualifies him politically. PP-DB initiated a petition for his removal, after last week Ganev pushed with all his might one of their deputies - Yavor Bozhankov, but the chances of Ganev being removed from office are not great.
The provocations and the rude tone - a trademark of “Vazrazhdane”, just as black sweatshirts are the emblem of teenage gangs from the malls, nullify the already low authority of the National Assembly. There are no punishments.
Immunity as a shield for impunity
And when the deputies of one party are forgiven everything, the parliamentary speaker seems not just helpless, but an accomplice - Natalia Kiselova punished Ganev for attacking him with a… “reprimand”, she also overlooked other excesses of the “Vazrazhdane”. Against the background of its weak legislative activity, the National Assembly produces mainly political theater and battle scenes, and immunities are used as a shield for impunity.
This is another step towards selective statehood, where the government decides not what is outside the law, but against whom to apply it.
Selective statehood
Whether Tsoncho Ganev will lose the post of Deputy Chairman of the 51st National Assembly is not only a question of sanction. Among the unpunished outrages of “Vazrazhdane” is the vandalism of their deputies against the House of Europe in Sofia, whose immunities are also well guarded. In February, Slavcho Krumov, Ivaylo Chorbov, Yordan Todorov and Nikola Dimitrov participated in an attack on the EC building, which they threw red paint and eggs at, together with their agitators and opponents of Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone.
Although Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov requested the prosecution to remove their immunities in order to be investigated and charged, GERB and the others from the ruling majority thwarted the criminal prosecution. In addition to the four from “Vazrazhdane”, two from DPS-DPS are also taking advantage of the protection - Jeyhan Ibryamov, who was arrested in October last year with 100 thousand leva marked, and his party member Mario Rangelov.
“GERB's “Cold Reserve”
PP-DB have collected the necessary 80 signatures, even more, to submit the request for Tsoncho Ganev's removal from office. MP Yordan Ivanov (PP-DB) announced on bTV yesterday that no one from GERB-SDF, nor from “DPS-New Beginning” has signed the initiative. Last week, GERB leader Boyko Borisov defended his party's support for “Vazrazhdane” with the argument that: “The judicial process is not being bullied, but is simply being frozen for the time being so that the parliament can work”. But everyone sees that the parliament works hard only when party appointments to the regulators are voted on - and for the first session it has adopted only four laws and 11 amendments.
It is no secret that GERB uses “Vazrazhdane” as a “cold reserve” - Boyko Borisov's party has experience in training national populists who oppose it only until they position themselves as anti-systemic, and then vote together. “GERB systematically cultivates “Vazrazhdane” as a convenient quasi-opposition to attack the real opposition in our person”, commented the co-chairman of “Yes, Bulgaria” Bozhidar Bozanov.
If for GERB the excuses it gives to “Vazrazhdane” are a tactical compromise, in reality their effect is disastrous. When aggressive and humiliating actions of a parliamentaryly represented party are systematically forgiven, they cease to shock. Physical and verbal violence are perceived as “part of the game“, parliament - as a place where they behave like football fans.
This repels citizens from politics, as it instills the feeling that the rules do not work. At the same time, it strengthens apathy and cynicism - key allies of any authoritarian tendency.
Authoritarian model
The aggressive outbursts of “Vazrazhdane” discredit parliament and feed the illusion that “firmness” and “fighting” are virtues and salvation lies in the “strong” hand. "If they don't get screwed, they're strong," their supporters think. The correct conclusion is: "If they don't get screwed, they're useful to someone."
But the greater danger is that it legitimizes the idea that democracy is weakness and hard pressure is strength. When everything is forgiven for “Vazrazhdane“, others will want to get the same. The same means accepting aggression as a normal tool - and if we look around, we will see that society is receptive. And this opens the door even wider for an anti-democratic project. Someone is already knocking on it.
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.