Delian Peevski is once again the talk of the day. He is the overweight guy bending threateningly from the rostrum of the National Assembly who was keen to become the chief of the State Agency on National Security (SANS). The ruling majority was freshly elected, as it hurried to nominate the 33-year-old media mogul for security chief. His election on 14 June 2013 that took ten minutes in the plenary hall elicited a powerful public response as thousands took to the streets of Sofia protesting the oligarchic rule of the country. Protests subsided in the first cold days of December but have resumed in the recent days. The reason: Peevski is back, this time preparing to run for member of the European Parliament.

Here is a brief bio of Delian Peevski: this successful young man as he described himself began his political career at age 21 as parliamentary secretary of the Transport Ministry led back at that time by Minister Plamen Petrov who was reportedly close to some mafia circles. That post virtually flew Peevski to the management of the Port of Varna on the Black Sea, an important international seaport. Later in his career Peevski was appointed deputy minister - in the government of the three-party coalition and at the Ministry of the State Policy for Disasters and Accidents that the then-PM and current leader of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) had entrusted to Peevski’s party, the predominantly Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). Amid a few speculations linked to corruption the young politician was for a short while removed from his post but was soon back after the prosecution could not bring malfeasance charges against him. In 2009 and 2013 Peevski was elected an MRF MP and was known for not bothering to turn up in parliament at all.  And when he did appear in the plenary hall to take the post of security chief on 14 June, he provoked one of the strongest protest waves ever seen in Bulgaria.

Following a temporary lull the protest wave is back to the streets, because the personification of backstage politics and political brokerage Delian Peevski is on his way of replacing his office in Sofia with an MP seat in Strasbourg.  Well, this is not a bad deal at all. With his possible second place on the MRF ticket Peevski will be elected for sure and in this way the government will kiss good-bye to at least one of its woes. It seems that Peevski is an irritant for the leadership of the co-ruling MRF. Without him its insecure leader Lutfi Mestan who functions in the shadow of the movement’s founder and ideologist Ahmed Dogan will be feeling much more comfortably in his position. Very soon after European election date 25 May, we will find out whether Bulgaria’s European partners are satisfied with the vote of the people. Overall, Bulgarian citizens will not be perfectly happy to see such a dark figure as Peevski being one of their envoys in the European Parliament. If they feel so however, this is further motivation for them to go to the polls on 25 May thus reducing Peevski’s chances and the chances of other unworthy candidates to broker their economic power for high political posts. Unfortunately, in latest public opinion polls one in four voters in this country has no intention to visit polling stations. For sure, close to 100% of them however intend to stay at home, watch TV and complain about the unworthy political class. 

English Daniela Konstantinova