Sun, Nov 22 2009

Clive Leviev-Sawyer

Editorial: Fooling few of the people

Fri, Apr 17 2009 10:00 CET byClive Leviev-Sawyer 1182 Views
It is reassuring to see that most people surveyed in a snap poll about the Cabinet’s declaration of a "state of crisis" in the handling of Sofia’s refuse saw the move as nothing more than a political stunt.

That it is clearly a political stunt does not excuse the mayor who has been in office since November 2005 and has failed to overcome a problem that was no secret to anyone, given how it was neglected by his predecessors in the mayor’s chair.

The spectacle of specially-hired trucks at work in the streets of Sofia, melodramatically labelled as having been deployed by the "crisis staff" is more likely to reinforce cynicism about the antics of Bulgaria’s politicians than it is to sway anyone’s vote.

Coming on top of the unashamed attempts to manipulate electoral legislation so as to disadvantage one particular coalition, such obvious attempts at manipulation could either disillusion people so that they do not vote - or could even backfire so that some people turn out precisely to vote against those who seek to insult their intelligence.

There is little science in the political science of Bulgarian electioneering. Just a few weeks back, mayor Borissov was the villain because of reports about his comments about "bad material" among Bulgaria’s populace. Now he is the victim of a clumsy attempt to smear him.
As the elections approach, the wheel will turn again and again, but instead of progress, all that is likely to happen is the churning up of more dirt.

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