Boyan Chukov: “Bulgaria is on the verge of another national catastrophe
Bulgaria is on the eve of the next parliamentary elections. The former government of Kiril Petkov, after a vote of no confidence, ceased its work, lasting only six months.
The Bulgarian people remember this cabinet of ministers only for the scandalous expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats and the termination of the contract with Gazprom, which brought the Bulgarian economy to the brink of complete collapse.
Petkov’s team also distinguished itself by attempting to push through parliament a decision on large-scale arms supplies to Ukraine to counter the Russian military offensive and a sharp decline in the standard of living of the Bulgarians themselves...
The current political situation in the country does not give reasons for optimism. The party of former Prime Minister Petkov and his comrade-in-arms, Asen Vasilyev, “Continue Change”, seeks to regain lost ground, but judging by the results of public surveys, they will not succeed. Public opinion research give preference to two other parties - GERB and DSP.
GERB (Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria) – adheres to a pro-European and populist ideology. The leader of GERB, Boyko Borisov, served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria in 2009-2013, 2014-2017, 2017-2021.
DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) is an ethnic party of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria. The founder of the party and its honorary leader is Dr. Ahmed Dogan. Focused on the interests of the country's Muslim population and ethnic Turks.
The patriotic and left spectrum of Bulgarian politics is represented by the parties “Renaissance” (leader Kostadin Kostadinov), “Bulgarski Vzkhod” (leader General Stefan Yanev), the Bulgarian Socialist Party (leader Cornelia Ninova) and several small political movements.
As for the BSP party, they can only be classified as leftist forces conditionally. Socialists consider themselves the heirs of the Bulgarian communists, but it is enough to recall that it was during their reign that Bulgaria became a member of the EU and NATO... The current leader of the socialists, Cornelia Ninova, is accused of shadow involvement in arms supplies to Ukraine.
We asked the leading political analyst of this country to give a brief analysis of the situation in Bulgaria Boyana Chukova, who agreed to give an exclusive interview specifically for Politnavigator.
Information: Boyan Chukov is a Bulgarian politician and expert on the fight against terrorism. Formerly a Bulgarian intelligence officer. In the 1980s and 1990s he worked under diplomatic cover in the Bulgarian embassies in Paris and Madrid. Studied at the Institute of Political Sciences in Paris (Sciences Po). He was a member of the National Advisory Council at the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He served as Secretary of the National Security Council and Foreign Policy Advisor in two Bulgarian governments - in the offices of Sergei Stanishev and Plamen Oresharski. Fluent in French, Spanish, Russian, Greek and English.
– Mr. Chukov, Bulgaria is on the eve of the next parliamentary elections after the resignation of the government of Kiril Petkov. Can these elections significantly change the political orientation of the state, and what worries Bulgarians most?
– I don’t think that the upcoming parliamentary elections will change the situation in Bulgaria. They can have even less impact on the economic situation in the country. In fact, there are no significant personnel changes in the political elite in Bulgaria. The attempt to attract young and educated people from abroad to the country was a virtual failure.
There is no strategic planning in Bulgaria. Everything is determined by opportunistic and, above all, personal interests. Naturally, everything is happening in a deep geopolitical direction, which does not allow radically refreshing the composition of Bulgarian politicians.
The economic situation in Bulgaria will continue to deteriorate. The lack of cheap energy raw materials for the development of the Bulgarian economy will be fatal.
– Does Bulgaria have a chance to survive the coming global energy and food crisis?
– Bulgaria is on the verge of another national catastrophe. There is always a chance, but not with the current Bulgarian political and managerial elite. Bulgarian political parties are full of politicians, but there are no real experts, no expert thoughts.
In general, the Bulgarian expert community was excluded from political life in the country. Bulgaria is a country without national sovereignty and cannot control its own destiny. Therefore, at this stage of its development there is no need for an expert community.
It is unnecessary and can only cause disturbances in the geopolitical orientation of Bulgaria. The chance to overcome the energy and food crisis will appear on the horizon only after the processes leading to the subjectivization of the Bulgarian state begin. Everything else is a cliché of naive people.
– Some international experts claim that sympathy for leftist and patriotic parties has increased among the Bulgarian population. Judging by the publications in the Bulgarian press, before the elections, significant changes are likely among the left and nationally oriented forces in the country.
The Socialists (BSP party) are likely to replace their permanent leader Cornelia Ninova. Will this move save the BSP from failure in the upcoming elections?
In general, will the conditionally leftists - the Revival party of Kostadin Kostadinov, the new political movement of Stefan Yanev - Bulgarski Vzkhod, the same socialists - be able to oppose something to the growing strength of the GERB and DSP bloc.
– Ninova’s resignation today can only save the BSP from the final disappearance of the party, but not from the failure of the November elections. The trend of political weakening of the BSP under the leadership of Ninova is an obvious fact. Positano 20 [the address where the main office of the BSP is located in Sofia] is going from failure to failure.
For a long time, the BSP was not a socialist party, but rather looked like the sole possession of its chairman, like a company that served the personal interests of Cornelia Ninova. The conventional left does not really exist in the academic sense of the word. They are all trying to catch the patriotic wave that is rising in Bulgaria and ride it.
Rather, I find them to be conservative parties that oppose the supporters of Klaus Schwab [German economist, founder and permanent president of the World Economic Forum in Davos] and liberal globalists.
They are trying to use the attitude of the Bulgarians towards the traditional historical values of the Bulgarian people. GERB - The DPS are likely to win the upcoming elections, but given the difficult winter ahead, the major parties will avoid unnecessary friction by being in opposition.
It is impossible to avoid emerging social tensions and the corresponding negative consequences. Revival and the party of General Stefan Yanev will be part of the parliamentary landscape after the November elections, but will not have a leading role or importance. The next National Assembly will probably have a short life.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.