site.btaAnalysts Don't See Covid-19 Crisis Serving As Basis for Political Consensus before Elections

Sofia, November 8 (BTA) - Asked to comment for BTA the ongoing election campaign in the conditions of the new wave of COVID-19, political scientists were unanimous that for now there are no indications that it could serve as the basis to achieve political consensus.        
According to Parvan Simeonov of Gallup International Balkan, as the public focuses on subjects such as the Green Certificate, for example, the outcome could be a turn to either a more radical vote or people remaining at home and not voting, or even protest voting for former folk singer-turned-presidential candidate Luna, for example. Otherwise, he says the situation is doubtless being used in a political aspect, particularly by GERB, which naturally uses every opportunity to underscore president-appointed caretaker government faults. Antonov says a consensus would require Borissov and (President) Radev to bury their mutual hatred, but he sees no signs of that at the moment.    
Antonii Gulubov commented that the politicians are trying to somehow project themselves on the developing crisis, not manage it effectively. The health care crisis made it clear that Bulgarian politicians regard politics as war, he said. He, too, does not see it as a basis for political consensus. Focused on short-term electoral success, most parties forget that once they enter the National Assembly and, possibly, the country's government, they would have to deal with the very same risk.      
Boris Popivanov noted that public tension results from both Covid-related fears and the accumulation of several layers of serious internal controversies in society. The former revolves around various aspects relevant to the virus, including vaccines, Green Certificates, and restrictive measures.   
Then again, he says the problem with most politicians and parties in Bulgaria is that they are not sure in their electoral support. That is why their messages are contradictory, as they try to catch every potential voter. Consequently, one cannot expect them to make a serious decision either way. So even though the Covid-19 crisis provided the opportunity for a large portion of the parties and presidential candidates to discard usual election debate subjects such as economy, poverty and unemployment and concentrate on the present and daily issues, there are no signs that it may become ground for achieving political consensus.