site.btaMedia Review: June 6

POLITICS

As European Parliament elections draw near, and after 17 years of EU membership, more than half of Bulgarians associate the benefits of being in the bloc with the freedom of travel (31%) and work (29%) in the Community, while the chance to emigrate is important for 5% of people in this country, 24 Chasa says, covering a survey by the Trend Research Centre, commissioned by the daily. Living abroad is overshadowed by the lure of EU funds (11%) and the opportunities to study anywhere in the bloc (8%). Security and defence are not among the most popular advantages of EU membership, with only 4% of Bulgarians recognizing them as such, the survey shows.

The COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which triggered multiple crises, seem to have unlocked fears that have dampened Bulgarians' enthusiasm about pursuing happiness outside their home country as in the 1990s, the paper comments. Asked whether they would move temporarily to live in another EU country, 63% of respondents answer in the negative. Replying to a question about which member state (other than Bulgaria) they would settle in permanently, 36% name Germany, followed by Spain (15%), Italy (11%), Belgium (8%), the Netherlands (7%) and France (6%). About 14% of respondents say the EU's biggest problem is migration from third countries, 8% name the war in Ukraine and its effects, and 6% complain that Brussels exercises too much control over individual member states.

The survey was conducted between May 11 and 18 among 1,003 adult Bulgarians.

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The drama in the upcoming Bulgarian snap parliamentary elections on June 9 (which will coincide with the Bulgarian elections to the European Parliament) will be about who comes in second, and whether a seventh party enters the National Assembly, MediaPool.bg says, covering a survey by the Alpha Research polling agency. GERB-UDF leads in the survey, supported by 25.1% of those who say they will go to the polls on Sunday.

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The question of whether the Public Council with the Central Election Commission has any fears about the forthcoming elections was discussed on the morning talk show of BNT1, the main channel of Bulgarian National Television. Council Chair Tsvetelina Peneva said that there will be four boxes to a voting room, and the votes from each box should be counted in succession. The tally sheets are not different from the latest local elections. There will be no need to add together the paper ballots and the machine votes, Peneva explained.

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Mathematician and election expert Mihail Konstantinov writes in Trud that Bulgaria has had 59 prime ministers in its history, heading either regular or caretaker governments. The longest serving prime minister is Stanko Todorov, who held the office for 3,632 days between 1971 and 1981 during the communist era (1944-1989). Second on the list is GERB party leader Boyko Borissov, who served as prime minister for 3,606 days between 2009 and 2021, with some interruptions. Third place goes to Todor Zhivkov (3,146 days, 1962-1971). The period when Zhivkov held absolute power in communist Bulgaria was much longer: 35 years, from 1954 to 1989.

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Political discourse in Bulgaria is descending to kindergarten level, satirist Ivo Balev says on the "(Op-)position" video channel of SegaBG.com. Balev says the country's politicians are using satirical language in their election campaigns, which, according to him, is a big mistake because it supplants the core of the political process. "The politicians seem to think that the population has become so stupid that it will respond to such things... In the era of TikTok and five-second entertainment, people have lost the habit of digging below the surface. An image catches the eye, it is amusing, but politics is not about amusement. Even satire is not about amusement."

Discussing the apparently low voter interest in the elections, Balev says: "We do not have any real, serious problems as they do in Ukraine, for example. Having nothing to eat, not knowing whether you will wake up in the morning - those are real problems. Bulgaria has had no such problems for a very long time. In terms of subsistence, Bulgaria is doing fine, actually."

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"Peevski Will Not Share Power in MRF for Much Longer," caps a signed analysis published on SegaBG.com. The author, Lyudmil Iliev, says that Delyan Peevski's rise in politics has been quite steep. Until the middle of 2023, he was officially just a rank-and-file MP of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). He surprised everyone by participating in the negotiations between CC-DB and GERB-UDF for forming a new government, for which he would personally secure parliamentary support. Later, he ousted Mustafa Karadayi, who suddenly resigned as MRF leader. Meanwhile, Peevski's conduct in Parliament was as if he held the key to power. At present, he is co-leader of the MRF together with Dzhevdet Chakarov, the analysis goes.

Peevski's ambition does not seem to end here, the analyst says. Until not so long ago, he was far from preferred as a political ally. Being close to him became politically dangerous after the United States government sanctioned him under the Magnitsky Act in 2021. Peevski solved the problem, more or less, when the partnership between CC-DB and GERB-UDF was patched up in 2023. For nine months, their government relied on the votes of his people in Parliament. His lingering problem with the Magnitsky sanction was pushed aside while he was eager to pose as an arch-reformist and Euro-Atlanticist. After these nine months of closeness with CC-DB, he can safely claim that he is a politician like any other, open to negotiation and even good enough to govern with.

This gives Peevski a great advantage in the MRF. The party core consists of ethnic Turks, and neighbouring Turkiye has a direct interest in keeping Peevski in its orbit to use him as a stepping stone to Bulgarian politics. This is sensitive territory which should be navigated with caution. Being an ethnic Bulgarian, his relations with Ankara remain vague, the author says.

Although Peevski officially shares the MRF leader's post with Chakarov, he publicly behaves as if he is the sole leader. His topping the MRF list of national parliament candidates in the MRF stronghold Kardzhali came as a big surprise. The party does not need to expand in Kardzhali, it "owns" the region. Peevski's nomination in this constituency is symbolic: it is common knowledge that whoever is at the helm in Kardzhali rules the MRF. The situation can be explained with Peevski's influence within the top crust in the party. What voters in Kardzhali and among the expatriates in Turkiye think of him is unclear.

Peevski is doing what every politician does in such a situation. He is lavishly doling out promises. "It is up to us to decide who gets to govern the country, who becomes prime minister, who the ministers are, and it is up to us to decide whether we want to give our support or not," he said in Kardzhali. At the latest elections, in April 2023, voter turnout in Kardzhali was 26.82%. Over 70% voted for the MRF. If turnout and the MRF's score drop further, Peevski will be held personally responsible, and his claim to lead the MRF single-handedly will weaken, the analyst says in conclusion.

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Socialists in the north-central Gabrovo Region restored the memorial plaque on a local monument to Mitko Palauzov (1930-1944), known as the youngest member of the communist-led guerrilla movement in Bulgaria which fought against the country's Nazi-allied government between 1941 and 1944, Duma says in its main story. Stanimir Stoichev, who leads the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) chapter in Sevlievo, Gabrovo Region, said it was very difficult to find photos and documents showing what the plaque looked like before it was destroyed by vandals, as was also the stairway to the monument. Ivan Chenchev, the BSP's top-of-the-list candidate in the Gabrovo constituency in the upcoming early parliamentary elections, said: "What we see in Osenikova Polyana [where the monument is located] is sad. If we let our national memory become overgrown with weeds, [...] we are doomed to have no future as a nation."

LAW & ORDER

Over a period of four months, the National Customs Agency (NCA) has seized 100 litres of the dangerous opioid fentanyl, which is spreading across Europe, says Stefan Bakalov, Head of the Department for Combating Drug Trafficking at the NCA, who has been interviewed for the leading item in 24 Chasa.

The World Health Organization says on X: "Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that is used as a pain reliever and as an anaesthetic. It is approximately 50-100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl and its chemically similar analogues have been associated with a spike in deaths from opioid overdose."

Bakalov warns in the interview that synthetic opioids will soon pose a big problem. They are much more potent and more harmful than heroin, he notes. He draws attention to the fact that kids are in danger, as sources on TikTok tell them that narcotics are trendy and harmless. Bakalov has delivered lectures at schools for 23 years. He remembers that a female police officer came up to him on the street one day and told him that she joined the police thanks to him.

Between 200 and 250 kg of cocaine is consumed in Bulgaria annually, the expert estimates, but adds that wastewater analysis, which is common in the West, is not practiced in Bulgaria. Bakalov goes on to say that some industrial hemp producers circumvent the restriction on the content of the active ingredient in the plant. Illicit drug production and trafficking flourish in countries beset by political instability, and that is where the big bosses are. Bulgarians are at the middle level of distribution, Bakalov says.

ECONOMY

Subzero prices of electricity are becoming increasingly common on the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX), MediaPool.bg says in an analysis dated June 4. In one particularly striking example, between 3 a.m. and 5 p.m. on April 7 IBEX had 15 consecutive intervals with zero or negative values. Basically, below-zero prices are most common between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the output of photovoltaic solar power systems is at its highest. Approached by the website, Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association President Meglena Rusinova commented: "Subzero prices are obviously good for consumers, but they pose a challenge to renewable-energy power plants."

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Parents who have nowhere to send their kids in the summer will have to spend a lot of money during the holidays, Trud says in its main story. Private care centres charge up to BGN 1,000 per kid per month for full-day care. The fee depends on the location and often does not include food costs. The service normally includes foreign language classes, standard sport activities, outdoor events, and sometimes even salt therapy. On the outskirts of Sofia, the monthly fee is about BGN 500 (food not included).