🇧🇬 Bulgarian elections megathread (next up: European and National (?) Parliament 09 June 2024)
RGM2609:
Quote from: Estrella ✯ on April 03, 2021, 01:25:49 PM
I'm aware that Romania and Bulgaria have less in common than people often assume, which might make comparisions between them iffy, but it's kind of strange to see where the countries were politically in the Ceaușescu/Zhivkov days and where they are now. Contrary to what would have been expected, Romania now seems to have a healthier democracy than Bulgaria, with an actual anti-corruption party as a major player, a draconian National Anticorruption Directorate, stable-ish party system and so on.
Do you have any idea why?
My best guess would be that in an interesting cause-and-effect relationship, the Romanian people were left with somewhat stronger pro-democratic instincts than Bulgarians exactly because of how much worse communism was for them. But still, it took 30 years for Romania to get to this point (and still PSD is the largest party and the far right is rising), post-communism was a mess to get over. I hope and think that the political situation in Bulgaria will begin to improve soon, one can not fight the course of history forever (if anyone would have told me in 2011-2012 what Romania would look like right now, I would have laughed so hard). Beagle can correct me if I am wrong in my assumption.
Beagle:
Quote from: RGM2609 on April 04, 2021, 02:55:24 AM
Quote from: Estrella ✯ on April 03, 2021, 01:25:49 PM
I'm aware that Romania and Bulgaria have less in common than people often assume, which might make comparisions between them iffy, but it's kind of strange to see where the countries were politically in the Ceaușescu/Zhivkov days and where they are now. Contrary to what would have been expected, Romania now seems to have a healthier democracy than Bulgaria, with an actual anti-corruption party as a major player, a draconian National Anticorruption Directorate, stable-ish party system and so on.
Do you have any idea why?
My best guess would be that in an interesting cause-and-effect relationship, the Romanian people were left with somewhat stronger pro-democratic instincts than Bulgarians exactly because of how much worse communism was for them. But still, it took 30 years for Romania to get to this point (and still PSD is the largest party and the far right is rising), post-communism was a mess to get over. I hope and think that the political situation in Bulgaria will begin to improve soon, one can not fight the course of history forever (if anyone would have told me in 2011-2012 what Romania would look like right now, I would have laughed so hard). Beagle can correct me if I am wrong in my assumption.
This is technically politics and not elections and a complete answer would require pages upon pages, but briefly:
- RGM is correct: Bulgaria in general - and obviously there are counterexamples - has been governed remarkably moderately for a Balkan country and certainly did not have anybody as malevolent as Iliescu in a position of power in the past 25 years. Civic society generally is strong enough to block the worst excesses* and at since the government of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha there is a general agreement that politics is not a zero-sum game and the parties in opposition are allowed to have a seat at the table where the spoils are divided. As a result, dissatisfaction is always bubbling, but never really boiling over, and since the catastrophe of 96-97, there really haven't been any 'cathartic' events that would bring about radical transformation. In the same timespan I can name three such occasions in Romania (maybe not to the level of the Kuciak murder in Slovakia, but enough to cause a 15 point shift in opinion polling virtually overnight)
* wracking my brain for an English equivalent to German Schweinerei, any suggestions?
- RGM opened my eyes to a marked difference between Romania and Bulgaria - both countries have substantial diasporas, but apparently the share (at least among voters) of menial workers is much higher in Romania. The Bulgarian emigrants tend to be the activist type and in their absence, the critical mass needed to achieve a positive change is much harder to achieve.
- I was going to write something about the utter collapse (financial, moral and otherwise) of traditional media in Bulgaria, but I'm not really familiar with the media landscape in Romania to make a comparison.
- last but not least: personalities do matter. The 97-01 'Old Right' PM's choice to appoint a sycophantic paranoid schizophrenic as chief prosecutor (who eventually turned against the PM) left the criminal justice system a mess that was ripe for takeover by the current puppetmasters.
Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela:
Quote from: Beagle on April 04, 2021, 05:14:46 AM
- last but not least: personalities do matter. The 97-01 'Old Right' PM's choice to appoint a sycophantic paranoid schizophrenic as chief prosecutor (who eventually turned against the PM) left the criminal justice system a mess that was ripe for takeover by the current puppetmasters.
Wait, what?
Tender Branson:
Who the f**k is holding an election on an Easter Sunday ?
RGM2609:
Quote from: Tender Branson on April 04, 2021, 09:28:45 AM
Who the f**k is holding an election on an Easter Sunday ?
Bulgaria is Orthodox, we don't celebrate Easter on the same day as Catholics
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page