The top news story this week was the resignation of PM Plamen Oresharski and his government. As it often happens on such occasions, the conservative opposition party Gerb took a breath of relief and started making plans for a landslide victory at the early elections on 5 October. In turn, the coalition that had singled out the government – the Bulgarian Socialist Party and its partner, the predominantly Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms – came up with a plethora of superlatives in a bid to describe some sports of imaginary “achievements” of the Oresharski cabinet during its rule of 421 days.
The situation in Bulgaria, however, can hardly offer anything new to voters. The key political players are all the same and regardless of their rhetoric of change, reform and catharsis, they are unlikely to give up the status quo. And this status quo is not rosy for average Bulgarians: there is a permanent tightening of the belts, amid constant arbitrariness of the monopolies in energy ensuing in outrages electricity and heating rates, rampant corruption and dirty backstage deals in the political rule. In all honesty, stubborn street protests have failed to break this pattern.
Does the new government stand any chances of dealing with at least part of the challenges including chronic ills in justice, healthcare and the pension system? Most analysts are sceptic. Everything will go on as before.
In all likelihood, at the elections on 5 October, most voters will suffer a seizure of amnesia and will vote again for the conservative Gerb forgetting that while it was in office, the notorious Finance Minister Simeon Djankov did a lot to keep Bulgaria’s status as the poorest EU member country.
By the way, the conduct of impoverished Bulgarian voters borders on the paradox. Those who get poorer by the day and who demand a more just distribution of public resources inexplicably vote for a rightwing rule. The reason could be that in Bulgaria the political establishment does not offer a genuine Left. The Bulgarian Socialist Party is socialist only by its name. For quite some time now, its clans have merged with the oligarchic centers of big capital. Consequently, the governments that it has singled out have always served their interests. The government of Plamen Oresharski made no exception to the rule either.
English Daniela Konstantinova
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