site.btaPolitical Analysts Discuss Political Forces' Strategies in Local Elections Campaigns, Whether Government Is Stable

A public discussion organized by the Examiner analytical club took place in Sofia Tuesday focusing on the strategies of the political forces in the election campaign for the October 29 local elections and whether the current government is stable. 

Political analyst Ognyan Minchev expressed belief that the political strategy of the big parties to nominate politically inexperienced people as their mayoral candidates is not particularly suitable for Sofia. 

There is no violation of a political principle due to the fact that the government is formed by opposing political forces, he said. “This cabinet may not be very strong or very stable, but I think it is doing its job at this stage as it is a crisis management government,” the political analyst underlined.

He argued that it is necessary to urgently create political teams, to reach a political agreement on sealing Bulgaria's representation in the international institutions on which this country’s future depends, “because at the moment we are not on this map”. 

Political psychologist Prof. Antoaneta Hristova commented that if people look in depth at the situation with the local elections, it is revolutionary as it shows high levels of dissatisfaction with the mayoral candidates and political parties. The question of whom to vote for indicates that there is also tension simmering in society, the political psychologist stressed. The global problem is an increase in the number of those who refuse to have an active position and make a choice, as well as the emergence of undemocratic practices to shape the final outcome of the vote, pointed out Hristova.

“I am curious whether President Rumen Radev will attack the changes in the Constitution,” she further stated. 

This government is currently relying on two points - that it is Euro-Atlantic and that Rumen Radev and his caretaker governments can take back control, the political psychologist added. If the political parties cannot take power, then they are weaker than the caretaker cabinets, Hristova concluded. “The lack of principles of this government corrupts the voters, it is made more for personal motives than in the interest of the voters. At the moment there is no alternative, but one will appear at some point,” she argued.

Political analyst Tatyana Burudzhieva stated that the upheavals in the parties are yet to come. She expressed belief that the campaigns are flawed and the political parties and leaders are "self oriented".

Political analyst Rumyana Bachvarova noted that the election campaign has just begun, so any predictions are currently "hanging". “I expect there to be an increase in the intensity of the campaign the last two weeks as is tradition,” she added. 
Bachvarova said that the mayoral candidates are an expression of the tendency to look for civic-minded, professional people. However, she noted that this is not a crisis of partyism, but an attempt by the parties to seek additional support in some kind of NGO. These candidates are a kind of positive trend, Bachvarova stressed.