Why does a politician like Delyan Peevski, sanctioned by the US and the UK for corruption, have such a huge influence in Bulgarian politics and the media? And why does the question #WHO again remain unanswered, writes Emi Baruch.
How much weight does Delyan Peevski have? There is no yardstick that can give an exact answer to this question, because it does not refer to the appearance of a politician at all.
The media and their "added value"
The difficult answer lies first of all with the mediators in Bulgarian publicity, whose task is to shape public opinion, to shape the positive and negative images of the spokespeople of the different factions, to translate their messages into understandable language and to do so honestly. It is they who add “value” to the scales of the most discussed Bulgarian in recent years.
For years, his name has invariably been present in the commentary and reporting columns of the largest television stations. He - the MP, the investigator, the publisher, the media mogul, the political leader, the multimillionaire, who every day enters the homes of millions to tell them what he thinks, who he despises, how he will go to the houses of those he does not like, to conclude: “I know everyone in this country. I have influence everywhere … they will choose me to run the country“.
This is the man who was even for two days the No. 1 counterintelligence officer!
What do the viewers see and hear?
The arrogant speech of a haughty and self-satisfied man who demonstrates disrespect for his colleagues, contempt for institutions and a threat to his opponents. Why Mr. Peevski does not speak from the rostrum of parliament, but does so from the corridor, is a question that I do not remember being asked. This is probably what Ms. Velislava Krasteva, the longest-serving PR of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, advises him, and she is right to advise him, because the style of her boss would not be tolerated by the chairman of the parliament, whoever he may be.
No matter how hypocritically parliamentary manners are observed, Delyan Peevski's offensive qualifications could not go unnoticed. Expressions such as “breed”, “unclean insects”, “pathetic little people”, etc., uttered from the rostrum of the National Assembly, should be sanctioned. However, in the corridors, especially if “the boy” says all this with bright sarcastic intonations, with a desired effect of mockery, this not only does not outrage, but even amuses those holding microphones and cameras.
How did we get here?
In 2016, the magazine “Spiegel” called the Bulgarian politician Peevski “an iceberg of corruption” and wrote that his career is an indicator of the development of Bulgarian democracy and market economy. These and a number of other analyses by independent commentators throughout the years of the meteoric rise to power that launched a 21-year-old young man into the high echelons of power, emphasize the real problem - the “boy”'s big goal (and not only his, by the way) is that there should be no functioning institutions in Bulgaria. Because it's easier to steal that way.
In 2021, Delyan Peevski was sanctioned under the “Magnitsky” law due to his involvement in corruption, influence peddling and bribery. The fact that the construction of complex business schemes that are on the edge of the law cannot be done without the cooperation of influential individuals and state institutions is obvious even to laypeople. Great Britain and the USA are taking coordinated action to eradicate corruption in Bulgaria, while there is not a single investigation against the sanctioned politician in Bulgaria.
How did Bulgarian society allow this disgrace
How did a rich man turn out to be more important than the way a society defines itself as part of modern civilization? How is it possible that the circles around Peevski spread their infection across the entire Bulgarian public? How is it possible that this man is in charge of the state in front of all of us?
Why, ladies and gentlemen, do you tolerate this pogrom against Bulgaria? On June 14, 2013, after Plamen Oresharski and Sergey Stanishev proposed Delyan Peevski as head of DANS, unprecedented protests of many thousands spontaneously flooded the streets throughout the country. For twelve years, the question #WHO directed that move has not received an answer.
Yesterday, thousands of people took to the streets again. And the question #WHO is blocking the Constitution is again waiting for its answer.
This comment expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and the State News Agency as a whole.