Comment by Alexander Detev:
"Good evening, dear viewers, are you sleeping?" The year is 2013, the question is asked by none other than Slavi Trifonov.
In his song "There is no such country" Trifonov, who was then still known only as a host and showman, is outraged by the apathy against the backdrop of widespread political corruption and degradation of values.
Exactly a month after the song was released - on June 14 - there is no trace of the apathy in question. The election of Delyan Peevski as the chairman of the National Agency for National Security and Defense of the Republic of Bulgaria (DANS) is exploding society, and the question #WHO is being asked by hundreds of thousands of protesters, on the pages of international media, and even on Roger Waters' stage.
These weren't just another protest
Were you moved by this memory? I was. The protests in 2013 were inspiring, especially for people like us, who were just graduating from high school at the time. "Two or three students are tiredly protesting, they have no chance here, it's best to emigrate", Slavi sang a month earlier.
But in the following months, on the streets and squares of Sofia and the country's major cities, we saw that we were far from two or three. And maybe we don't need to emigrate after all?
Slavi is sleeping. And you?
Let's fast forward. The date is April 16, 2025. "This cabinet will not fall", declares Delyan Peevski - now, in addition to being a notorious oligarch, also the leader of a political party, supporting a government and a majority that indulges his every whim. There is another protest on the streets of Sofia - this time in defense of the Constitution, for justice and "Justice for Everyone", as the organizers call it. The protest, of course, is also against Peevski, who 12 years after #DANSwithme continues to be the antithesis of everything mentioned. There are several hundred participants, a large part of whom have known each other since 2013. "Two or three, it's best to…", as Slavi sang. The next day, Peevski fulfills his statement and with the votes of his party, the government remains in power.
And speaking of Slavi - what do you think he is doing? Is he outraged that the same people he sang against in 2013 continue to pull the strings? Ha, you guessed it! He is in a coalition with them. The respected viewer Slavi sleeps in the arms of Delyan Peevski, who supports his ministers in power. And you - are you sleeping?