The Coalition of the Radical Left, or SYRIZA has won the Greek elections and now Europe is concerned about the threats of new PM Alexis Tsipras for a radical political change in our southern neighbor. The poll victory of SYRIZA will undoubtedly contribute to the upsurge of its kindred Spanish movement of Podemos, where parliamentary elections are forthcoming. The leftist turn of the two states, situated along the southern wing of the EU was preceded by protests of outraged citizens against social cuts, unbearable unemployment and the mortgage racketeering of banks. Similar prerequisites exist in Bulgaria as well, but one way or another such a phenomenon is barely likely to occur here.

At first glimpse we live in conditions that are appropriate for the appearance of a radical leftist party here – sustainable, high levels of unemployment, miserably low wages and even worse pensions, raging corruption across the entire society and stalled economy. The rules in Greece are dictated by the Trio – EU, ECB and IMF, while the neoliberal economic model of IMF and WB was imposed in Bulgaria yet after the 1989 changes. However, Bulgaria’s left means now the former communist party, now socialists, the breakaway movement of ABR and the loudmouthed populist and ultranationalist Ataka party. Furthermore – exactly the socialists were the ones, who passed on the ultraliberal flat tax and lowered the corporate one to 10 percent, placing this country next to exotic offshore zones. The Bulgarian left has achieved nothing, but symbolic increases of pensions and maternity leave compensations. Thus in Bulgaria, twice poorer than the groaning Greece, no signs of any discontent can be spotted, leading to a new SYRIZA-typed party. Tsipras won the elections with an utopia-like program for a significant pardon of the debt, 300,000 new job openings, a 13^th pension and defense of borrowers in distress. However, Athens now does have a chance to cut off the widespread corruption and smuggling, improving tax collection, especially regarding oligarchs. The same can be said about Bulgaria, but it is not a question of any leftist or rightist politics, but to a working judicial system. Moreover, large scale protests here ever since 1989 have been not so many and with a controversial success. It seems that even endless poverty and widespread corruption that stumble the economic and spiritual development of the state are not capable of awakening civic discontent, giving birth to a new political formation.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev