New Right-Wing Bulgarian Coalition Firm on Having Joint Ballot

Stefan Sofiyanski at the joint Saturday press conference of the new right-wing coalition Union of Right-Wing Forces. Photo by BGNES

The newly emerged Bulgarian right-wing coalition, called Union of Right-Wing Forces, which registered with the Central Election Commission, CEC, Thursday morning, gave Saturday a joint press conference.

Representatives of the Coalition that includes the Union of Democratic Force, UDF, and 6 other smaller right-wing political formations, among them the United Democratic Forces (ODS) party of former Mayor of Sofia and now again mayoral hopeful, Stefan Sofiyanski, hugged, pronounced their endorsement of Rumen Hristov, the UDF nomination to run for president, and took pictures with him.

The new Coalition unites the right-wing political spectrum but does not include UDF's long-term partner in the Blue Coalition – the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria Party, DSB, of former Prime Minister, Ivan Kostov. They issued a declaration, read during the press conference at the UDF headquarters in Sofia.

The declaration points out that the last few years in Bulgaria have revealed the need of a stable right-wing rule, the only one that could overcome the replacement of parliamentary democracy with populism and single-handed leadership; the show-off, but pointless actions in countering crime; the inconsistent and chaotic economic policies.

The right-wing announced they will work for bringing back reforms in the rule of the country and eliminate the lack of transparency in the distribution of public finances and the dangerous rift in the nation on ethnic grounds.

Rumen Hristov, who won the Blue Coalition presidential nomination in June, through an internal vote against the DSB candidate, Svetoslav Malinov, stated the right-wing paid the highest price for the 20 years of transition in Bulgaria after the fall of Communism, but Bulgaria had achieved some success precisely because of the reforms of the right-wing rule. He pointed out that those democrats, who demanded the first reforms in Bulgaria, are now the most disadvantaged people in the country.

"Today, however, Bulgarians have low standards of living, young people emigrate, and the change must begin with the October 23 elections. I am proud to be a citizen of the European Union. If I am to become President, my policies will be dignified and pro-Bulgarian. I will also fight firmly against the high unemployment rate, low income, petty crime, monopolies and their high prices, and for improving the conditions for the small and medium-size business," Hristov said.

UDF leader, Martin Dimitrov, stressed that Bulgaria is moving further and further away from the right-wing ideals and is turning into a police State. He declared that Rumen Hristov is the only true right-wing presidential candidate in the country, who will be the winner of the fall elections. Dimitrov also announced that talks with all other parties backing Hristov will be held during the week.

"The registration with CEC is a formality. The true political support is much larger and keeps growing," the UDF Leader concluded.

Meanwhile, Sofiyanski stated that he was firmly in opposition while DSB are yet to say whose side they were on.

He, however, declined comments on the nomination of the Blue Coalition of DSB's Prochko Prochkov, to run as Mayor of Sofia. Prochkov is actually one of his opponents in the mayoral race.

Sofiyanski only stated that he would work on having a joint right-wing nomination for Mayor of Sofia, but only if it is logical and becomes the foundation of triggering early parliamentary elections.

"The goal is to have a long-term political project," he said.

The rift in the Blue Coalition emerged in the last week of August, when it was revealed that DSB were outraged by UDF signing an agreement with ODS for endorsement of the right-wing presidential nomination of Rumen Hristov. They threatened to submit registration documents with the Regional Election Commission (REC) for mayoral elections on their own "in order to not leave Sofia residents without an authentic right-wing candidate."

Last Sunday, UDF, however, vowed to stay in the Blue Coalition and fulfill their commitments.

DSB announced Friday it will continue to support the nomination of Rumen Hristov as the presidential candidate of the right wing.

The statement came from a declaration red by DSB leader and former Prime Minister, Ivan Kostov.

When asked if the reason for the rift in the Blue Coalition was his ego, as UDF announced, the DSB leader commented he had proven he can swallow offensive words and dismissed reports there are personal conflicts in the Coalition, mainly between him and Dimitrov.

Stefan Sofiyanski, the highly popular-turned-controversial former Sofia mayor, launched his pre-election campaign for a new term as head of the municipality office in July.

Sofiyanski was Sofia Mayor in 1995-2005, after being elected three times – in 1995, 1999, and 2003; in 2005, he backed out of the job to become a Member of Parliament. In 2006, he became a Bulgarian observer in the European Parliament, and then, briefly, a MEP in January-May 2007.

In 1997, Sofiyanski temporarily stepped down as Sofia Mayor to head a caretaker Cabinet amidst the financial and political crisis that grabbed the country. Until 2003, when he founded his own party, the Union of Free Democrats (UFD), Sofiyanski was an emblematic figure in the Union of Democratic Forces, the major anti-communist and pro-Western Bulgarian party of the 1990s.

Sofiyanski resignation from the mayor seat of Sofia in 2005 paved the way for Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria's current Prime Minister, to rise to prominence by winning the by-elections in 2005.

Sofiyanski's political image has been marred by corruption allegations. In 2004-2008, he faced three corruption trials but was acquitted in all three of them because he was found not to be responsible, and for lack of evidence.

Sofiyanski's bid for the 2011 local elections was formally announced at the beginning of June by a brand-new rightist formation uniting a number of marginal diverse political subjects.

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