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ACTS Post opinions with a wide range of perspectives to encourage constructive discussion.
More than 50 days have passed since the start of the protests, and one question continues to hang over them: what alternative will they produce? And isn’t there the danger that this alternative will be more dangerous than today’s government?
The question, of course, is important. Of course, we have to think and talk about what can happen after possible resignations and early elections. Of course, dangers lurk everywhere. But concentrating too much on this topic is somewhat pointless and useless. Because the protest is not an elite club with entry cards. It cannot be guided and modeled in such a way as to prevent someone from clinging to it in an attempt to extract some political dividends from civil unrest.
And the dangers are somewhat exaggerated, because whatever happens, it is highly debatable whether the current situation is likely to get even worse.
The shadow of the 2013 protests
Those who are most concerned about possible future developments point to two main threats. The first is related to the shadow of the events of 2013-2014. That is to say, the current protests are likely to give birth to a political combination that, instead of undertaking reforms, will preserve the power patterns, dependencies and influences behind the scenes of today and reproduce the current oligarchic-corrupt model.
Dismantling this model, of course, is a difficult task that does not have a quick and easy solution. But its literal repetition is almost impossible. Because the political configuration that supported it was so shaken that it was difficult to repair the cracks in the power structure. Therefore, it can be said that even without resignations, the protests have already been partially successful.
In any case, it is difficult to imagine a development in which things could get worse than they are now. The state is already stagnant, its institutions are weakened and subjugated, and the pillars of democracy such as the rule of law, private property and freedom of expression have been seriously undermined.
Geopolitical orientation
The second supposed threat to the protests is that they would bring to power forces close to Russia and the Kremlin that would question the geopolitical orientation of the country. In principle, that danger always exists here. But looking at it precisely in connection with the protests means closing our eyes to the fact that our geopolitical orientation is already highly compromised and at a more than essential propaganda-declarative level. Due to the aforementioned circumstances, the Bulgarian government resembles Putin’s oligarchic authoritarian system more than the European democratic model. As for the interests of the Kremlin and Russia: despite the slogans and symbolic gestures, they are still very well protected in practice: in energy projects, for example. So, with regard to the second threat, the situation can hardly get worse.
What can you do
Those who warn of these threats are actually supporting the protests, at least in word. But they are afraid of the future if they achieve their goals. However, by that logic, it turns out that we should all sit back and wait until the alternative we like is strong enough to sweep away the status quo. However, things never happen this way and there are no guarantees of success. And the status quo is just waiting for that.
Author: Yasen Boyadzhiev
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