One must hand it to Ahmed Dogan. He always gets what he wants in Bulgarian politics. It took the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) just four sentences at a remote village in northern Bulgaria to get the entire country talking about him and his party a week ahead of elections, handing him publicity no amount of money could buy. The statements in question: "I am the instrument of power", "MPs have no power but me", "I say what money goes where" and "the MRF is like a germ" caused a number of politicians, social scientists and journalists to reflect on Dogan and his aggressive and disrespectful public form of address.

Even though some people say that Dogan admitted what everybody else knew, but were somehow too afraid to say out loud - namely that party leaders dictate their party policy through their MPs - most reactions to Dogan’s words concluded that he had made a mistake by allowing cameras to record his words. His behaviour after the clip, shown on TV, however, indicates that this must have been a carefully planned and executed campaign because it managed to achieve what Dogan and his party want most of all in the run-up to an election: the consolidation of MRF’s core supporters, Muslim Bulgarians. Now, with just a day left before these elections, these Bulgarian citizens probably have little doubt who they will support. 

Significantly, after eight years in the Government, the MRF has accumulated a lot of negative energy - even among its loyal supporters - many of whom are still yet to see the benefits of this ‘reign’. Despite what MRF officials may say, Muslim Bulgarians, especially those living in mountain villages in the Rhodope, are still among Bulgaria’s poorest people. They have few, if any, options other than growing tobacco leaves. From next year EU subsidies for tobacco growers will come to an end which, practically, will leave many MRF supporters without any real economic prospects. Add ongoing speculation and allegations about MRF’s corrupt activities and one could easily see that the party needed something to consolidate its supporters.  

Dogan’s words were the perfect tool for this because, after they broke out, almost all his political opponents condemned him and his party by referring to "the Turkish party", so triggering a public anti-Turkish discourse. Only a couple of days later did these politicians start distinguishing between the MRF and Bulgarians of Turkish descent, but it was already too late. By then Dogan had managed to associate the MRF with Muslim Bulgarians, leaving them no choice but to recognise the party as their sole political representatives in power.

This is quite visible in the way Dogan talked to his supporters. When shown on news bulletins, Dogan is never dressed in a suit but rather in a sports jacket and jeans. He is always addressing the crowd as if they were at his table. He uses expressions such as "I want you to do this", "I need you to do that", "I ask you for this once every four years and I don’t think it is too much". It is as if he is talking to small children, not adults capable of taking their own decisions, which is a sad view of 21st century Bulgaria.