What picture did the European Parliament elections paint in Bulgaria? Expectedly, the political instability in the country shifted the focus from European issues to domestic troubles. Passions flared up around the question: should there be early elections after the total fiasco of the mandate holder, the Bulgarian Socialist Party. On its part, with its resounding victory GERB party reasserted its role of a leading political force. This means a convincing victory in Bulgaria for the European People’s Party. Unlike many countries of Europe, where radicals and eurosceptics made a breakthrough, in this country the nationalists failed to clear the election threshold and will not be sending MEPs to the European Parliament. And though the returns are not final, it seems the turnout in this country will be below the average for the community. What prompted some Bulgarians to go to the polls and others to stay home? Here is what some people from Sofia said after the closing of the polling stations:

“It is important to vote, because, after all, we live in this country and we should elect the people who will represent us in Europe. My own view is that there are many things that must change, there must be more jobs and a better life for the young,” says Irina Hristova.

Lyuben Konstantinov, a lawyer by profession is adamant that it matters very much who will represent us in Europe and wants to see there people of integrity who will uphold the national interests:

“The turnout should be higher, there should even be a law making voting compulsory, because that is the way vote buying can carry less weight and the people who want changes will be able to make their voice heard.”

Stella says the low election turnout in this country is not the result of euroscepticism but of disappointment with local politicians. She says it is important to vote because she believes this is the way we can shape our future and the future of our children. As to what she expects of the MEPs, she says:

“They are no different from what I expect of other Europeans – they should all know where their country’s interests lie and uphold them. I expect all parties to come out and say what unites them. Ultimately, they must all represent Bulgaria’s interest.”

Many of our countrymen did not go to the polling stations. “Not that I didn’t have the time, but I didn’t have enough information,” says Blagorodna and adds:

“The parties themselves are the product of the parties we had before. There is nothing new that could start functioning. These are schemes in which the individuals change, there are stooges. No one enters politics with any new ideas.”

Her friend Valentina explains that she recently returned from Great Britain, where she has been living for years and hasn’t had the time to find out where she could cast her vote. But this is just part of the reason why she did not go to the polls:

“Every year I come to Bulgaria for a while and I see nothing has changed, except for the worse. There are more and more people, normal looking people who are rummaging through garbage bins. There are more and more poor people, the gulf between rich and poor is widening.”

The comments by the chief players in the European elections were not late in coming. GERB party leader Boyko Borissov demanded the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski, “if he is a man of honour and ethics”. “With our convincing victory, we have provoked early elections,” he told reporters. “Based on where the voters have placed the candidates, each and everyone should know his or her place. It is only fair.”

“I am not planning to resign, I will not be doing my opponents any favours,” said on his part Sergey Stanishev, leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and President of the Party of European Socialists and added:

“Our performance was much worse than any sociologists had predicted. One of the reasons is the fact that left-wing voters traditionally stay home at European elections. We failed to achieve the kind of mobilization level we usually have at national elections. Moreover, people evidently expect much more categorical and clear positions and results and we bear the responsibility for that. We accept this severe warning. What we now need is a much clearer horizon and a clearer commitment to the policies that should be more decidedly social, left-wing and in support of growth and more jobs. Another reason is the split and the scattering of left votes. Another factor we should not forget is the crisis in Ukraine. It is no secret that most of our supporters are Russophiles and the fact that the government took up a position that fits into the European position, though out of very clear, principled considerations, demotivated a great portion of our electorate.”

“The Movement for Rights and Freedoms is steadfastly the third political force in Bulgaria,” said the party’s leader Lyutfi Mestan:

“Whether we like it or not, for several terms of office to come, Bulgaria is bound to be ruled by coalitions,” he added. “I think that the powerful “eruption” of a given political force is a thing of the past. That is what used to bring them to power with an overwhelming majority. The fact itself, that sitting down to a cup of coffee with your opponent is seen as something dramatic shows how clumsy we are when it comes to expressing ourselves through dialogue. For the sake of the national interest, we must be ready for dialogue, though by no means collusion.”

Meanwhile the new political player on the Bulgarian political stage Nikolay Barekov, leader of Bulgaria Without Censorship, called for early parliamentary elections and a dialogue among parties. His party made a breakthrough, winning two European Parliament seats. He demanded that the parties who will send MEPs to Brussels sit down and draft a plan for a way out of the crisis. He also called for the formation of a caretaker government, with the support of President Plevneliev, to prepare the country for early elections.

After a long absence from the political scene, the old right is now back, represented by the Reformist Block. It too saw in its results from the European Parliament elections a serious motive to demand the government’s resignation.

“We did not attain the result that matches our political ambitions,” said Reformist Block co-chair Radan Kunev. “We achieved what, in sports, is an X in an away match, with one goal – a very sound basis for future consolidation and better political achievements. We gave representation to over half a million Bulgarian voters who are not represented in this National Assembly and winning them over at the next elections will be our prime objective, which I believe is absolutely feasible. These election results are a total fiasco for the anti-European project and for the massive anti-European campaign that unfolded in Bulgaria in recent months. None of the parties that have been advancing anti-European theses will be represented in the European Parliament and that is only natural and positive.”

A low election turnout, a wide gulf between the two leading political forces, the appearance of a new player - that is how political analyst Ognyan Minchev describes the picture after the vote:

“This spells a serious shift in the political balance in the country. It will obviously create conditions for calls for holding parliamentary elections,” he comments. “There is an increase in the radical, eurosceptical, nationalist positions across Europe. Be as it may, at these elections the victory went to the European right – the European People’s Party which gives guarantees of continuity. The European choice has been made for Bulgaria.”

According to Antoaneta Tsoneva from the Institute for Public Environment Development the European elections in Bulgaria were vitiated by a controlled and corporate vote on a hitherto unseen scale:

“A GMO player has entered political life in Bulgaria – Bulgaria Without Censorship. To all intents and purposes its entire campaign was against the rules. To my mind it surpassed the financing restrictions long ago, and the way the observers were put to use is also against the rules. There are no less than five organizations directly or indirectly connected with the Bulgaria Without Censorship formation and these account for almost 50 percent of all observers. What we witnessed was a fiasco for the ruling party. This is a severe defeat for the Bulgarian Socialist Party, and there is no other way to explain this than with the disappointment and mistrust of their electorate. According to analyses, it was simply that not enough of their supporters went to the polls. The whole arsenal we know from Bulgarian elections was put into harness in plain sight of the whole of society.”

English version: Milena Daynova