The statements by the leaders of the parliamentary groups from the new, 46^th National Assembly on its first day reaffirmed the desire for a change of the hitherto existing model of governance and the ambition for dialogue with the frontrunner from the elections – the party There Is Such a People (ITN). On their part, the representatives of Slavi Trifonov’s party (ITN) remained true to the impression they have been making so far, methodically cementing it every time they make any statement.

In an interview for BNR-Plovdiv Prof. Lyubomir Karadzhov, lecturer in public communications explains:

“With this conduct and way of communicating the party is modelled after Slavi Trigonov’s own image, and that makes them different from all other politicians who try to hold dialogue or who, at least have more to say. There are two facts here that are highly significant. Toshko Yordanov did not address the honorary president of the National Assembly Mika Zaykova and he confused the name of the president (saying President Parvanov instead of President Radev – editorial note). This slip of the tongue is a highlight coming from long-term memory, and in this case is suggestive of an enormous amount of pressure, and also that improvising from the parliamentary rostrum is definitely not a good idea.”

Prof. Lyubomir Karadzhov says that one of the causes of the tensions within the party may be connected with the fact that they need to take circumstances into account instead of forging ahead according to plan – their pre-election programme from A to Z. Furthermore, for the second time in a very brief space of time the inauguration of the session by the most senior MP Mika Zaykova reminded us all that dreams exist so they can be made to come true. 

Another thing she made an impression with was:

“Her informal dress code, her human intonation, even the mistakes she made seem adorable,” Prof. Karadzhov says further. “What she said was somewhere between an address and a speech, between the human and the political element, between the formal and the informal.”

In her statement Zaykova also highlighted some of the more pressing concerns of the day – topics such as the problems in education, businesses and the need to support them, pensions, and the lives of the mothers of children with disabilities.

Despite the bids by individual parties, and despite Mika Zaykova’s explicitly stated wish to be the “good fairy godmother” in the formation of a government, political analyst Antony Galabov is rather sceptical:

“It must be clearly said that support for a government means taking political responsibility for its actions. I believe that support for such a cabinet is not very likely, and unfortunately, the probability is growing of this National Assembly being very short-lived. This would be the worst-case scenario for Bulgaria. We are wasting time and every day wasted pushes up the cost we will all have to pay.”

In the event of one more snap election, the political analyst predicts an even lower voter turnout and a need for much more political experience and much greater efforts for resolving a possible crisis which, besides political may well grow to be economic. Antony Galabov adds, reassuringly, that for the time being the country’s macro-economic indicators are good but that “we are going to pay dearly for every day we waste to feed partisan self-interest.”

Interviews by BNR-Plovdiv

Editing by Yoan Kolev