Bulgarians Oppose Awarding Ex Communists

State orders and awards are officially bestowed by the Bulgarian President, currently Georgi Parvanov, former Socialist leader. Photo by BGNES

Over half of Bulgarians are against bestowing State awards to individuals connected with the services of the former Communist regime, according to a recent poll of the National Center for Study of Public Opinion (NZIOM).

The poll was conducted between November 3 and 10, registering significant unity among respondents regarding giving official recognition to people who have been actively involved with the regime.

58% say they oppose the bestowing of orders to such people while 15% state they do not see anything wrong with it.

Those against awarding former State Security employees are mostly men, aged 50 to 59, with higher education, living in largest cities, and supporters of the right-wing Blue Coalition, the nationalist, far-right Ataka, and the ruling, center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party.

There isn't a social and political group, however, where approval of such awards surpasses disapproval. Even supporters of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) stand divided on the issue with 38% and 35% respectively.

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