site.btaFront-Runners in 2021 Bulgarian Parliamentary Elections: Democratic Bulgaria Alliance

Sofia, March 26 (BTA) - This is the fourth piece in a series of
backgrounders that BTA's Daily News is running ahead of the
April 4 general elections in Bulgaria. The series covers eight
parties and coalitions which polls show to be certain or likely,
 to various degrees, to win seats in the next Parliament: VMRO -
 Bulgarian National Movement; Bulgarian Socialist Party;
Movement for Rights and Freedoms; Democratic Bulgaria; Rise Up!
Thugs Out!; Patriotic Coalition - Volya and NFSB; GERB-UDF; Ima
Takuv Narod [There Is Such a People]. They are arranged
according to the number by which they will appear on the
ballots.

Democratic Bulgaria Alliance

History

The Democratic Bulgaria Alliance was established in April 2018
as a coalition of three parties:

Yes, Bulgaria!, founded in 2017 by Hristo Ivanov, prioritizing a
 judicial system reform and dismantling what the party sees as a
 corrupt governance model;

Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), founded in 2004 by
breakaways from the Union of Democratic Forces, led by former
prime minister Ivan Kostov;

The Green Movement (often referred to by its former name, the
Greens), founded in 2008 and affiliated to the European Green
Party (not to be confused with the Party of the Greens which,
too, is running in the April 4 elections).

In 2019, Democratic Bulgaria ran in the European Parliament
elections as a coalition, and its candidate Radan Kanev
(European People's Party Group) now holds one of the 17 seats
allocated to Bulgaria.

Ideology

Democratic Bulgaria's Centre-Right ideology is formulated in
general terms typical of the Bulgarian context and is hence open
 to loose interpretation. This kind of phraseology offers: (1) a
 common framework for action by three different parties, each
keeping its own physiognomy; (2) room for political manoeuvre
and for implementing particular policies; and (3) a potential
for a possible future expansion of the coalition.

Platform, Policies, Positions

A distinctive identity cannot be extrapolated from the all too
general ideological framework in which Democratic Bulgaria
functions. Rejection is a far more accurate identifier. Even in
its manifesto, Democratic Bulgaria projects itself as "an
opposition to the corrupt governance model established by GERB,
the BSP [Bulgarian Socialist Party] and the MRF [Movement for
Rights and Freedoms]." Democratic Bulgaria rejects in principle
the State built by the parties which have taken turns in
government over the last 15 years and opposes the governance
practices that have evolved during that period.

Democratic Bulgaria is therefore perceived as a champion of a
new governance model. The most discussed element of that model
is judicial reform as a means to combat domestic corruption.

The highly fragmented right wing, of which Democratic Bulgaria
is a part, stands a much better chance of gaining political
representation if consolidated. The 14-plus smaller rightist
parties learnt this the hard way when they were defeated in the
2013 and 2017 parliamentary elections, letting GERB monopolize
the centre-right political spectrum. United in a Reformist Bloc,
 though, the right did make it to Parliament in 2014.

This experience accounts for certain paradoxes in Democratic
Bulgaria's present conduct: the DSB (which is both part of
Democratic Bulgaria and GERB's sister party in the European
People's Party) lashing out at GERB, Hristo Ivanov lambasting
GERB leader Boyko Borissov (in whose second cabinet he was
justice minister), and DSB leader Atanas Atanassov saying that
Democratic Bulgaria is ready to negotiate with the BSP (its
ideological antipode) on a united front against GERB.

Support Base Profile

The parties comprising Democratic Bulgaria have their hardcore
supporters, but the alliance clearly seeks to develop a much
wider following. The left-right dichotomy seems sidestepped,
once a right-wing party is willing to cooperate with the largest
 left-wing party against another right-wing party.

Hristo Ivanov, who is often attacked by other "protest vote"
contenders for having been part of the status-quo as member of a
 previous Borissov government, was a regular at the street
protests against Borissov's present government in the summer of
2020.

While the individual political weight of Democratic Bulgaria's
affiliates cannot be credibly measured, the alliance as a whole
definitely enjoys stronger support than the aggregate backing of
 its constituent parts. Hence, at the upcoming elections,
Democratic Bulgaria might rely on voters favouring a
consolidated right wing excluding GERB.

Analysts often refer to Democratic Bulgaria as "the urban right"
 because its faithful are concentrated in larger cities, mainly
in Sofia. This uneven geographical distribution surfaced in the
coalition's performance at the 2019 local elections. The
identification of Democratic Bulgaria as "the urban right" and a
 power base of "well educated, intelligent and liberal-minded
people", targeted by its messages, make the coalition appear
somewhat elitist. In other words, it is not yet widely
recognized as an exponent of the masses.

Tactics, Ambitions, Goals

Democratic Bulgaria has developed a comprehensive system of
campaign messages, complete with visions, assessments and
initiatives for each sector. Observers have noted, though, that
the coalition's taglines were formulated a bit too late.

Over the last couple of years and particularly during the street
 protests in 2020, the Democratic Bulgaria leaders came up with
two main messages: "Resign!", addressed to the Government, the
Prosecutor General and Parliament, and "Cancel!", referring to
the Balkan Stream natural gas pipeline and the Belene N-plant
projects, seen as examples of subservience to Russia's economic
and political interests. This is a deja vu. Back in 2018,
Democratic Bulgaria called for "citizens mobilization against
Bulgaria's Putinization.''

The coalition's political stance has two other noteworthy
elements: criticism of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev and of the
 MRF. In the summer of 2020, Hristo Ivanov with a group of
Democratic Bulgaria activists tried to land by a dinghy on a
stretch of a nominally public Black Sea beach adjoining a
residence used by MRF founder and honorary chairman Ahmed Dogan.
 This highly publicized action exposed a situation of ordinary
citizens's access to public property being wrongfully restricted
 for a private benefit.

Personalities

Democratic Bulgaria is co-chaired by the leaders of two of its
three member parties: Hristo Ivanov of Yes, Bulgaria! and Atanas
 Atanassov of DSB. Both are qualified lawyers, well-known to the
 public, and politically experienced. Ivanov served as deputy
prime minister in 2014 and justice minister in 2014-2015.
Atanassov is a retired Interior Ministry major general, former
director of the National Security Service, and former MP.

Vladislav Panev and Borislav Sandov, co-chairpersons of the
third member party - the Green Movement, are members of the
alliance's Political Council.

Democratic Bulgaria's experts include a number of familiar
faces: MEP Radan Kanev, economist Georgi Ganev, culturologist
Alexander Kiossev, diplomat Stefan Tafrov, former tennis player
Manuela Maleeva, former Sofia Municipality ombudsman Antoaneta
Tsoneva, and economist Martin Dimitrov, who is ex-leader of the
Union of Democratic Forces. RY/LN/VE/LG