Bulgaria Needs New Political Parties
2013-02-25 11:34:57

What usually happens when a country's government resigns as a result of mass protests triggered by poverty, corruption and a lack of social justice? An opposition party wins the elections.

While the second phase of this scenario is likely (though not certain) to happen in Bulgaria, few are excited by the prospect.

A great number of Bulgarians believe that the main goal of both the ruling center-right GERB, whose government stepped down last week, and the major oppositional Bulgarian Socialist Party, is to serve the oligarchs.

In fact, there is not a single major Bulgarian party that currently enjoys a sufficient degree of respect. They have all been in power, and they have all failed to combat the rampant corruption in the country.

Bulgarians are deeply disillusioned with political parties in general – and the fact that some protesters endorsed the establishment of some sort of "partyless democracy" is no surprise.

Few dare speak about the formation of new parties, even though this may exactly what Bulgaria needs.

New parties that refuse to serve the oligarchs.

Since there are virtually no left-wing social democratic parties in Bulgaria (BSP is pro-oligarchic), this may be the place to start.