Bulgaria

The article examines the results of the European Parliament elections in Bul- garia in the general context of other European countries. It is argued that these are not key elections, but a symptom of a major change in the political attitudes of European citizens. In Bulgaria, the elections seem to confirm a new trend, beginning with the 2016 presidential election, of a political split not between the supporters of the two major parties but between those who voted for the winner and those who did not vote at all. The hypothesis is that a new political cleavage is emerging.

The article aims to address the fragmentation and the oppositions dividing the opposition in Bulgaria in the light of the parliamentary elections on April 4 2021, the “short” 45th National Assembly and the early parliamentary elections on July 11 2021. Following the mass citizens protests in 2020, all opposition parties did campaign against the incumbent party GERB and its allies and claimed to dismantle the authoritarian model of governance and to tackle the endemic corruption. This seemed to be the main common goal of the opposition. In the end, the opposition actors discovered their political immaturity and incapacity to construct a viable alternative of government. Above all, the elections in 2021 have revealed and deepened the divides amongst the opposition forces.

This observation is a pilot part from a more comprehensive study on VMROBulgarian National Movement. Theoretical framework for political actors positioning in this segment is outlined retrospectively – mainly in the field of conservativeness of stances. Indications of such are identified via reviewing of 1,320 official party publications over a year, 48 monthly waves of representative research, main campaigning messages and programme indicators analysis, as well as electorate profiling. As a result, a hypothesis is motivated and discussed of an attempt for positive campaigning on otherwise radical appeals – labelled “radical normality”.

The article argues that Bulgaria is experiencing a negative transformation, a transition from post-communism to post-democracy expressed in the transition from corruption to endemic corruption and state capture. The aim of the article is twofold: on the one hand, to analyze the current hot political debate on the rule of law, on the other hand, to conceptualize in an innovative and original way the political transformations that make predictable and inevitable giant corruption scandals like Magnitsky, Pandora’s files. The first introduces the author’s concept of the transition from post-communism to post-democracy, which articulates three different transformations in post-communist development, each defining the rule of law differently. The second part considers the civil mobilizations against the corruption model as an expression and catalyst for the formation of active and contestant citizenship. The third part analyses the three-pole model of the state capture, as well as the coalition for political change.

At the beginning of the campaign for the European Parliament elections in Bulgaria, most polls placed the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) either in the first place, or at slight difference after GERB, but in any case, with a real chance of winning this election. Such was the declared objective of the Bulgarian socialists. However, the votes cast on the ballot on May 26, 2019 showed a different picture: BSP ranked second for the fourth consecutive time, with a considerable distance from the first – GERB. The article seeks to answer the question regarding the dimensions and reasons for the results of BSP in the elections. This is done by tracing the overall process of preparing and conducting the campaign, from the formation of the candidate list and the adoption of the election platform, through the course and eatures of the Socialist’s Party campaign. The campaign results are compared with previous results of the Socialists and with the results of the main competitor since 2007 – GERB.

Based on an analysis of semi-structured biographical interviews with participants in the Green Movement, conducted between 2005 and 2015, the article shows a typological portrait of the Bulgarian environmental activist. The main focus of the analysis is the motivation for participation. This is examined in the light of the interaction between the motivation and the political and civic culture of the interviewees, their views on politics, democracy, participation, the meaning of life, as well as their outlook on nature and their surrounding environment. This typology highlights important political and ideological cleavages within the environmental community, and it reveals the diversity and complexity of the tendencies, motivations and values that the environmental movement encompasses. The green citizen is an ambiguous and yet a monolithic persona: He/ She could simultaneously be a Patriot and a Cosmopolite, a Traditionalist and a Pioneer, a Radical and a Reformer, a Leftist and a Rightist, Formal and Informalbut in any case – he/she is an opponent of the status quo, a witness and a participant in the overcoming of the traditional models and oppositions which are characteristic for the 20th century. Additionally, the green citizen is a co-creator of new value syntheses, but also of new oppositions.

The aim of the article is to analyze populism in relation to its political innovations. The idea is that, if national-populism marks such an impressive rise, it is because it is a carrier, author and driver of main political innovations. The three perspectives in which populism innovates are communications, symbolic politics, post-democracy. The innovation is captured analytically – through concrete political changes, instead of normative ones – as positive political changes. Populism is also a reaction, and an expression of „post-democracy” (Crouch) – the gradual transformation of democratic institutions in empty shells. The neo-liberal globalization and economization of societies shift the energy and innovative engine from the democratic arena to closed politico-economical circles. The far-right populism, on one side furiously criticizes the post-democratic loss of democratic content, and on the other additionally continues to erode it.

The presidential elections of 2016 produced a new situation in Bulgarian politics, but did not change substantially the Bulgarian party system. The victory of the non-partisan candidate proposed by the BSP and the failure of the candidate of the ruling party was unexpected and was significant for the “depolitization” of the society. Citizens in Bulgaria expressed their limited support for the main parties, looking for a candidate who has not previous partisan career. This seems to be a sign for more serious civic disaffection from the existing parties.

The article tracks all aspects of the presidential candidacy of Roumen Radev: the process of his nomination, campaign and performance. Subject of detailed analysis is the campaign of the candidate in its various aspects - organization, party support, financing, direct campaign, media appearances, participation in election debates. The author presents a picture of his convincing victory in the presidential elections in Bulgaria in 2016. On the background of broader economic, social, political, cultural context during the campaign and election are shown the internal factors that led to this result – the effective support by the party BSP, the personal and political qualities of the candidate, the campaign performance.

The article focuses on three dimensions of the issues related to the rule of law and the judicial system reform in the context of the presidential elections in Bulgaria in 2016: the formulation of a clear vision for future development of the judicial reform and strengthening of the rule of law in the candidate’s manifestos, the level of participation of candidates in the political and civic debate on the issues and the type of commitments expressed during the campaign. Thus the article aims to formulate a typology of campaign related positions on the basis of two dimensions – political profile of candidate and their distance to bringing the issues as priorities of the presidential institution.

The article deals with the history of the emergence of the vice-president institution in the Bulgarian constitutional model, the motives for its creation, as well as its functions and specifics. The position of the author is that this institution in a parliamentary system and devoid of own functions is unnecessary. The role of the vice presidential candidates in election campaigns is also being monitored.