Galery

1

The first comment is that I would not like to be in his place because, on the one hand, if he wants to remain a relevant and recognized political figure he has no other choice than to take the side of the protesters. On the other hand, the constitution limits his powers and he has no right to intervene in the political process, to "deliver" a political alternative, help any organizations and individuals reach a common solution. From this point of view, his position is not easy.

But the campaign you have mentioned is carried out by the same media of the mafia and, probably, there is a centre somewhere which is “processing” certain theses because we see that exactly the same materials appear in different media. These are the so-called "revelations" regarding who is hiding behind the protests. There we can see the same complex and xenophobic attitude towards the world, namely that we are the best but someone else has conspired against us. That is, if there are protests we need to immediately understand who pays the protesters. Moreover, none of the authors of these "discrediting materials" suggests that there may be free people too. The same happens with other media which are a little freer. This means that the attack is against everything that acts somewhat normally.

In political terms, the only thing that is happening in Bulgaria at present is the formation of the so-called reformist bloc. We see many difficulties, things are happening quite slowly and some commentators argue that the parties which are trying to establish it should have reacted faster. Are you optimistic regarding its creation and could it be a serious alternative to the current stalemate?

My answer may sound contradictory. I am both optimistic about the future of the organization and at the same time, I do not think it could be the alternative that the people expect.

This formation, it does not matter what it will be called in the future, will obviously be a factor in the political life of Bulgaria because the issue of it entering the parliament is not on the agenda at all. Even the first polls have already proved this. The point is that the majority of the people in the square really want a new and uncompromising attitude towards corruption, mafia, hidden control, underhand dealings, dependence, etc. Nevertheless, each of the parties which are trying to form the reformist bloc has something in the past which it wants to hide. Everyone who existed before and was part of the government has something to hide, or there is something for which it is to be blamed at least.

That is why the majority of the people can hardly accept a purely technical - mechanical union of some old parties. There is even an interpretation that they are uniting in order to avoid falling off the "board."

Do you think a national strike which Konstantin Trenchev has stated that he would announce will yield a result? Why are the trade unions in Bulgaria outside the protests? Why is that?

I take such statements with laughter because the trade unions in Bulgaria are also part of this "facade of democracy" against which the people are protesting right now. Now is not the time to analyze what they have done and in whose interests they have acted over the years.

However, the truth is that they are unable to cause a nationwide strike. Even if the two big unions come out and announce something like that, how do they imagine that they will do it? They have influence over two industries where there are miners and over another 1-2 former state-owned large factories and that is all. In fact, the majority of the people are not at all bound in trade unions, even if some of them are formally allocating a few pennies from their monthly pay to the union.

Unlike Greece, the trade unions in Bulgaria cannot do anything. They can transport 300 miners to the protests by buses and that is all. I do not see what other role this could play other than being a provocation.