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Anastasia Balezdrova

Two days after the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, the uncertainty about who will take power is still present. Meanwhile, the leaders of several small parties that failed to cross the 4% threshold to enter parliament resigned, which is creating an expectation of renewal and a possible shift in the ratios of the political spectrum.

GRReporter continues the series of interviews on the subject with intellectual Milena Fuchedzhieva. She is a writer, screenwriter, director and creator of the popular series in Bulgaria "Seven Hours Difference".

Mrs. Fuchedzhieva, do you feel represented in the new parliament?

No, I am not represented in it. I just voted for the lesser evil.

Do you think that the majority of Bulgarians are represented in it?

I think that the Bulgarians are definitely represented in it. And I do not accept the stigmatization of some sociologists, analysts and commentators, namely that if you vote for the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party you are a scoundrel or a pop-folk fan and that if you vote for someone else you are something else. For me, the election results are indicative of the fact that the people do not want the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) to rule them. However, GERB failed to deal with the situation in Bulgaria in economic terms. Moreover, it ruled during a severe international crisis. No government could have hardly have emerged from this situation unscathed.

Unfortunately, the small right-wing parties are gone. On the other hand, it is good because I see that in fact, the young people in big cities voted for GERB en masse, which means that there is a desire and room in this space. The future will show whether GERB will remain in history as a major party or not, but either way, there is room for something new. It is clear that the young people do not care about Ivan Kostov, the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) or about the familiar faces. They want new leaders who will be presented in a different way.

I think that a sufficient number of people voted in the elections. There is a decreased interest in elections as well as distrust in politicians everywhere in the world. In such an atmosphere, it is very difficult to win the elections in a landslide.

But even after all the scandals, the fact that GERB has retained its leading position proves that the people do not want to be ruled by the BSP, without this meaning that it would not do so.

We saw a complete fragmentation of the right wing. Why did this happen? And how could one, at least strengthened, if not uniform, right-wing party, be formed in Bulgaria?

Apparently, the former names no longer mean anything to young people. The former leaders do not have the charisma that attracts them. Recently, it has been particularly important how you look, how you act, whether you can speak the language of young people, the language of the street, all those languages which are outside the circles of intellectuals and the elite. If you do not speak those languages, ​​you have no chance of winning.

Ivan Kostov is a very intelligent man, but unfortunately, he should have resigned long ago. Boyko Borisov took offence at the people who went out in the streets and he resigned. Of course, I think this was not only inspired by the people. This was a very well organized active development with the participation of the Committee for State Security, the BSP and Russia. They just could not forgive him for what he had done for Belene. So, he took offence and left. On the other hand, Kostov had taken offence in the past as well. These are people with big egos, who take offence and leave, which does not do any good. It is just because there is no room for liking and when one is engaged in power, he or she should know that he or she could do everything. And in Bulgaria, even more of everything.

Meglena Kuneva is also a very intelligent woman with experience in Europe, but the way she talks and looks takes her too far away from the Bulgarian people. She can enchant part of the urban population, and not very large part of it, although she did not perform poorly in these elections. And in my opinion, she made the same stupid mistake. Even before anyone had heard of her, as they say, she resigned. How is that? These were her first elections. Why did she resign?

At first, I was against Borisov’s entering politics. I have written a lot of spiteful things against him. When I returned to Bulgaria, things there seemed to be very good but, apparently, they just seemed so, whereas the people were very poor and continue to be poor. GERB pursued the policy of budget cuts, as in other countries, but in Bulgaria, it is simply not possible to tighten the belts more because the people are really poor.

Personally, I was hoping that Ivan Kostov and Nadezhda Neynski would be able to come to an agreement. But by failing to do so, they deprived me of my representation in parliament. I think they are both very experienced and intelligent politicians with great experience and I was hoping that they would be able to agree. But they quarrelled again, and so I voted for GERB, because for me it was important to vote for the one whom the red tainted the most. That is just my inner logic and I am comfortable with my choice.

Do you see a right-wing party appearing on the Bulgarian political scene?

Luben Dilov has a very good idea of selecting the people who want to participate in a new project through the internet. The idea is that there is no possibility of manipulating the people’s votes and opinions. However, Dilov insists on retaining the name of the UDF. I think that there is so much negative energy around those old "companies" that I do not know whether it is possible for something to revive from the past. This is what is wrong in his idea.

Furthermore, I believe that there are many young and smart people in GERB, who can do the job and have good potential for the future. But I would not want them to experience the things that happened to the National Movement for Stability and Progress. GERB is under very strong pressure, the attacks by the BSP are scary. So, I do not know.

There is room for certain. There is something to be done and apparently, there is something right in the ruling of GERB since the party has won the elections again although Boyko Borisov had resigned. Perhaps this is the right direction but it is just hard to find new leaders of the calibre of Ivan Kostov, Nadezhda Mihailova, Petar Stoyanov or even a man with the charisma of Boyko Borisov, who started from nothing and has worked his way up.

But on the other hand, there is simply no prime minister in Bulgaria who has not been disliked within two years. This will always be so. In Bulgaria, there is intolerance to successful people who reach a peak. I am not commenting on the skills. Whatever you are, if you can get to the top, they will crush you.

How would you explain the fact that the majority of people voted for the four specific parties?

The MRF is an ethnic minority that bears many children and they are already mature enough to vote in the elections. They can vote and its percentage rate will increasingly grow. The percentage rates of the BSP will decrease because the pensioners will die. This sounds crazy, but it is a fact, it is associated with birth and death in some strange way. We do not give birth like the Turks do and we do not have this sense of unity that they have. For them, it is religiously grounded whereas we lack the sense of common faith in something. So, the result of the MRF was completely expected.

As for the Attack party, it won the votes of the angry, the poorest and the most desperate people, just because Volen Siderov each time presses the "buttons of evil" in some way. But in his statements on the night of the elections, he was the most accurate, clearest, explicit in what he wants. I can understand why an increasing number of people vote for him: He is just precisely specific. It is not that what he said would happen, but with all his experience, Volen Siderov has become a very good actor. Moreover, he also has an enviable charisma and he is not to be underestimated at all. I do not think that he will leave politics soon. But I think the support for the Attack party is the fault of the BSP because many people who had previously voted for GERB, now gave their votes to the Attack party.

I hear claims that many people voted for smaller parties. Without any pretence of being fully aware of the details, I do not think this is true.

What was the role of the media in manipulating the votes of the electorate?

Their role was crucial. Some media had tipped the balances to one side very aggressively. They said that some media belonged to GERB, but in the end, it turns out that they were just looking after their own interest and when they lost it, they retreated. This is quite a bitter lesson for all.

I can say that the major online media tried to be objective, but anyway, the hysteria connected with the ballot-papers a day before the elections was absolutely unacceptable. I do not understand why the Council for Electronic Media did not impose sanctions on the media that were disseminating such information on the day of reflection. However, I think this whole story played a dirty trick on them because I decided to vote although I was not sure if I was going to vote at first. I just do not believe that there was forgery in the same way that I do not believe that the riots began spontaneously. It is not that there was no reason for them, the prices of electricity and heating are insane. But the timing was chosen in a very good way. Everything was very well organized by the services through some parties.

I do not believe that the elections were falsified. This is malicious and it is not true. These elections were the most closely watched in years. But the BSP insisted on this from the beginning and continue to repeat it like a mantra. Sergey Stanishev is a very intelligent person, he has many qualities and I like him as a person, but he represents something very vicious. The bad thing is that all this has dragged the country into a vicious cycle which nobody knows when we will be able to break.

What do you see happening in Bulgaria?

For me, the best thing that could happen is for GERB to remain in position for the simple reason that it is absolutely unacceptable for the Attack party to rule and, as seen, the BSP has no scruples. Immediately after the elections, Stanishev said he was ready to negotiate with the Attack party. The MRF said that there was such an option; its leader Lutfi Mestan refuted it today, but we will see what will happen in the end. Anyway, GERB does not have to form a collation with the Attack party if they are to be a reasonable opposition and be able to participate in possible early elections.

We will see what will happen, but it seems to me that probably, the BSP will rule. Personally, I think this is a good time simply because the coming months, a year or two will be difficult. Let them bear a little of the burden of the crisis, not only the right wing, which is not right as argued by a large number of people. For me, however, this is so. That is why I will be happy if the BSP takes power rather than some others because its ruling will end ingloriously, and that is my hope.

What is the alternative of Bulgarian intellectuals under these conditions?

The alternative for them is not to be so intellectual and to read the things that are happening in Bulgaria within the context of the global processes. This is not an isolated island. Bulgaria is dependent on Europe and Europe is dependent on America and the rest of the world. Everything is connected. Personally, I always look at what is happening outside Bulgaria and assess how those who govern are able to cope with the global processes that affect us economically and in other ways. This is the only criterion for making my choices. I will always support the people with good teams, who follow the western rather than pro-Russian policy.

Is there censorship in Bulgaria? Was it possible to hear alternative opinions before the election?

Yes, there is a monopoly in the media. But, as I said, those who had been falsely accused of supporting the power are no longer doing so. Perhaps they can now openly write against Boyko Borisov.

I did not think the censorship was real because no one has ever been stopped to write something against Borisov and GERB. This came instead from the journalists themselves and they were doing so, as many print media are consolidated under one owner. Accordingly, many of the journalists who wanted to criticize the former government were unable to do so because these media had just been flattering the government. This is no longer the case and I am very interested in the direction in which this "censorship" will deteriorate.

My opinion is that there was no real censorship. Many media are not impartial, but give a different position. I would recommend to those who say that there is censorship in Bulgaria to go to Russia, because ultimately, there is no journalist in jail, or who has been killed or persecuted. There is no such journalist. And whoever says the opposite, wishes the Bulgarian people ill, because that person tries to prejudice and influence the people in a dishonest manner, which is not good for the country in general.

Not to mention the fact that emerged today, namely that the government of the United States had tapped 20 journalists. The wiretapping affair is also a huge naivety. Wiretapping is everywhere. It is just that the level is different; these things are not done so publicly. In other civilized countries, they seek ways to hide the scandals. Here again, however, not particularly civilized methods of operation are used. Anyway, in Bulgaria, we do not yet know exactly what the prosecution will do as regards this issue. I wonder also, what will happen with the wiretapping of the 20 journalists from the international media Associated Press in the United States.