site.btaInstitute's Analysis: Parties Do Not Enter Open Clashes during Election Campaign

Institute's Analysis: Parties Do Not Enter Open Clashes during Election
Campaign


Sofia, October 2 (BTA) - The campaign for the October 5
parliamentary elections is unprecedented in many respects,
though not on account of its advantages, the Ivan Hadjiiski
Institute of Social Values and Structures said in its regular
analysis of political life in September.

Prof Peter-Emil Mitev has edited the analysis published on the
Institute's website.

The parties seem to be working on their own ground, with their
voters, without entering into open clashes or confrontations
through radical public offers, the analysts comment.

The explanation lies in the fatigue after nearly two years of
political tension, which started with the campaign for the
moratorium on nuclear energy. The succession of protests and
elections has led to a situation where the pre-election month
has lost its specifics as campaign month. Parties seem right to
assume that a more intense campaign strategy would backfire.

The political battle is taking place within the political camps
and the parties rather than between competing projects for
governance.

Preferential voting does work in Bulgaria as proved by the
European Parliament elections in May, and now many candidates
have been frankly canvassing for themselves rather than for the
party on whose list they are running. On the plus side, this
helps to attract more votes. The flip side is that conflicts and
disenchantment grow and the already low confidence in the party
system is further eroded.

The analysts say that a large portion of the campaign is being
conducted behind the scenes, not in the public eye or in the
media. The parties are not trying to draw distinct dividing
lines in their public appearances, and their platforms are quite
similar. "Civil society" is mentioned in the programmes as an
echo of the citizens' protests but its place is not clearly
identified.

The parties steer clear of subjects with a potential to derail
the campaign such as Corporate Commercial Bank, which has been
under conservatorship since June. The same applies to foreign
policy and the financial situation, which will be discussed only
after the elections.