Bulgarian Socialists Up in Arms over AIDS Comparison

BSP Media Policy Secretary Anton Kutev has become a mocking stock after comparing socialism to AIDS, apparently because of the contagiousness of both. Photo by BGNES

Members of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) are staging Monday evening a protest rally at the party's headquarters demanding the resignation of Anton Kutev as media policy secretary

The reason is a recent interview where he compared socialism to AIDS.

Kutev, one of the most seasoned functionaries of the BSP in the last years, caused an outrage among the ranks of his own party with the botched comparison in which he apparently sought to demonstrate the power and "contagiousness" of socialism by declaring that it gets transmitted sexually and/or is hereditary.

Kutev's father, Konstantin Kutev, was a longtime BSP functionary.

His words stirred a huge scandal in the party with many calling for his resignation.

BSP leader, interim leader of the Party of European Socialists, PES, and former Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev, defended the media policy secretary, stating the Socialist party does not punish people for telling jokes and it has way more important and exiting tasks to take care of.

Kutev is seen as one of Stanishev's close allies and a key factor in his battle and victory over former President, Georgi Parvanov, for the leadership of BSP.

Kutev, on his part, apologized in an official statement, but a number of Socialists remain unwavering in asking his ousting and thus are organizing a flash mob Monday.

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