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It is true that the attorney general went too far with the release of investigative material, arrests, brutal statements and, of course, the attack on the president, symbol of statehood. But when was confidence in the prosecution high? As for the simplicity of the rulers, it is not news, we are used to being ashamed of those we have broadcast, and the leaked records only shape our Baiganov National Complex. We have been talking about theft, bribery, illegal construction for years; the government media makes some counter-accusations and it all sinks into the quagmire of “everyone is mascara.” And as for communication over the Internet, and it is no longer a novelty, we have long been outraged to expose videos, forward rebellious podcasts.
The difference is the pandemic, that’s what everyone says. But how exactly does it affect the political process?
Borisov’s feint
At first glance, citizens are also rebelling against state-imposed quarantine measures – in places like the United States, not wearing masks is a political declaration of belonging to the alt-right, wearing them – to the liberal Democrats. In our country, it seems that the protests have not been defined in terms of the virus. Like a smart populist, Borisov faked the diners and, from a serious quarantine, surprisingly went on to a complete lifting of bans. So he divided the position of covid in those offended by the initial measures and those scared by its sudden rise.
What has certainly intensified the pandemic is the role of the state. Not only sanitary measures are imposed by force. Borders have reappeared, even in Europe. They are considering how to return the strategic productions that have gone to Asia. Governments have begun distributing multi-million dollar aid; Protectionism and state intervention in the economy are no longer bad words. Governments are trying to convince citizens that the situation is dramatic and that they must be given exclusive powers. But in countries with little confidence in power, like ours, this, after an initial shock, gives rise to the exact opposite reaction: mobilization against those who are supposed to abuse their extraordinary powers. That is, if we think they are stealing, now we fear that they are going to steal even more. In such a situation, only governments with a high degree of legitimacy (for example, in Berlin) are allowed to ban protests; in Sofia this seems unthinkable precisely because the sudden increase in the role of the state is frightening. We are talking about the concentration of all political, economic, media and fiscal power in a single center; There is still a quarantine that the legendary Who will impose on us.
A sense of common destiny
There is also a deeper reason for the outbreak of civic energy. Natural misery brought a sense of common destiny. And this, if we believe that there is a virus or not.
The pandemic returned our belonging to the state, where due to the quarantine, where due to the economic crisis, it made us wonder if we will protect others or vice versa, we will rebel against the medical authorities. If you want, you brought a large number of students and migrants to Bulgaria, because according to an ancient archetype, a person becomes ill and, God forbid, dies in her homeland.
What to do to meet together? So far we have asked ourselves this question less and less, because the discontents voted with their feet and civil anger did not reach the point of explosion. Trapped in this new dependency on each other, we set out to change the system. I don’t know what the end will be, but certainly this sense of common destiny already has an important effect on citizens; We will need this reflection in the future, for example when ecological catastrophe approaches.
Clash of values
I cannot blame the citizens who threw themselves with their bodies to defend the government, not those who drive like cattle in blue uniforms, but those who sincerely believe in our eastern stability. We are experiencing a serious conflict of values that could reshape not only institutions but also our fading nation; we must all participate in it. Because in Kennedy’s passage about Dante, “the hottest place in hell is for those who, in a moment of moral crisis, remain neutral.”
Ivaylo Dichev’s text is for Deutsche Welle
