Comment by Ivaylo Noizi Tsvetkov:
If one abstracts from the general background noise, one gets the feeling that all pro-European forces in Bulgaria seem to have stood under one slogan - "strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe", as the PP-DB even named their last campaign.
The idea is somewhat naive - we can prosper within the framework of our commitments to the EU only if a pro-Western competent government actively participates in the decisions of the union, instead of isolating itself through a dual policy of maneuvering along the main geopolitical axis "Europe - Russia".
It sounds great for television, but first, the bad news is that a government like Zhivkov is currently in power, maneuvering along the same lines, and second - I'm afraid that these things don't work that way, there are a number of deeper layers underneath that are worth exploring. considered.
Europe's big problem is one
Ursula von der Leyen's inspired speech a few days ago on the state of the union was worth paying attention to, which included the possibility of Canada becoming an "associate member" as a reaction to Trump's isolationist policy and a future meeting in Sofia regarding the so-called middle corridor that would connect Central Asia with Western Europe.
There is no room for fireworks, however, because Putin's hybrid war is downright ruthless in its effort to present to the more mentally unstable the concept of a "weak Europe". And why "labile"? Because it is not only in our country that there is an indoctrinated minority that both benefits from all the achievements of European liberal democracy and stubbornly and inexplicably to common sense and normal modal logic supports the regime of the obvious aggressor against Ukraine.
The European members of NATO together have an economy many times larger than that of Russia, a larger total army and military resources, and France and Great Britain are also nuclear powers. At the same time, Russian propaganda relatively successfully sells the susceptible mind the concept that Europe is a "middle power" and it seems that no one takes into account that the EU economy is second only to the USA and China, while the EU is second in the world in defense spending after the Americans.
Europe has only one big problem, and it - paradoxically or not - stems from its sworn democratic framework: there is a serious rift within the union between perceptions and capabilities. That is, Europe sometimes self-sabotages - instead of being strong and united, it makes the "factory" mistake of discussing too much and falls into something like Zeno's paradox or even a democratic ouroboros, in which it bites its own tail. Europe has the resources to be a great power, but the other great powers do not treat it as such. The headquarters and European national governments react to this too cautiously, which reinforces the impression that Europe is weak.
Europe must hit the table
The possible vulnerability of the EU is not only related to Russian drone provocations, but is internal and somehow props, hence the impression of "weak". It is obvious - the weakening factor is simple disinformation, direct political interference, interference in elections and everything else. Simply put, Russia is already waging war against us, and some of our compatriots agree that "tak nado" ("that's what's needed").
The European economy itself is terribly burdened by more than one or two things, some of them self-inflicted: the war in Ukraine, the climate economic burdens, Trumpist threats and hidden actions on tariffs, Chinese inhuman competition and the permissible dumping of goods, plus the consequences for fuel prices of the war in Iran.
And so the EU also falls into the endless samsara of its own existence - strategic pounding on the table means monstrous defense spending, the economic pressure from this leads to fewer social payments and the alienation of voters, who are easily tempted, for example, by "Alternative for Germany". Finally, the imperative to please voters leads to a more timid and cautious policy than the EU itself.
And to summarize: currently the EU is dealing with peripheral problems, while the material and military condition of the union suggests "hitting the table", because it is threatened by the drones and all kinds of test provocations of Putin's state.
And where is Bulgaria going?
And now we come to "strong" Bulgaria. We have yet to see how strong it is and to what extent Radev's new government is capable of tilting it towards what we called "Zhivkov's lowering" between two poles. The cure for this combines collective courage, strategic clarity and the understanding that we are not alone. To paraphrase a French comedian: if France can act - despite the danger from the far-right Marine Le Pen, Germany can spend, Poland can arm itself to the teeth, England can take over aid for Ukraine, and the EU can develop human capital, without necessarily tolerating any mass migration - then we have a chance. I would even add jokingly: and since Bulgaria cannot decide for yet another time, then everything is fine.
And Bulgaria has only one task - to ride on the big European ship and not rock it. Of course, I am not an optimist, I have never been, but there is still a way to unleash our potential, i.e. for our voice in Europe to be truly heard more and to send a simple signal - that we are not "proxy" of an anti-European force, from which we have suffered monstrously and for centuries after "Liberation". And to realize that we must be part of the solution to two main European challenges - first, how to preserve liberal democracy and step into the era of artificial intelligence, and most of all - how to turn the potential power of this union into a utilitarian one.
And finally "ergo": Europe itself as a policy seems to choose caution rather than risk. Or as David Hume writes - abstention from action instead of decisiveness. At the moment we seem to be part of this European hesitation, as if haunted and zombified by Putin's evil attraction, while - paradoxically - we are among the countries where "gde tak volno dyshit chelovek" ("man breathes so freely"). And we do not appreciate it, and we also seem to misunderstand that this freedom has a huge price, which is not paid double in euros, but through volitional decisions, for which not we, but our children will have to pay. Including with emigration.