Friends,

As an American who has lived in Bulgaria for four years, I continue to be horrified by the actions of Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg, who presented himself in the spring of 2001 as a candidate with the interests of the Bulgarian people at heart and now persists in distancing himself from the people, the country and the due processes which support and guide its political function. First was his initial audacious refusal to vote in the Presidential election, deeming it unimportant (can you imagine a US politician who refuses to vote?) and now he refuses to meet with his own (admittedly hastily assembled) party in order to discuss the quagmire in which they have found themselves! What arrogance! Is this the way Bulgaria prefers its leaders?

How much more benefit to the country would it be if Saxe-Coburg met with his colleagues, said, "Look, guys, this is what we are doing wrong and this is how to correct it. This is what the Bulgarian people want and this is how we can help them achieve it!" This would provide true leadership, not only to his party and to the Parliament, but also to the country. This is what Saxe-Coburg was elected to do.

I applaud the strides he has made with Western countries and organizations, but history has proved that an ignorance, deliberate or otherwise, of what the needs of the Bulgarian people are will result in downfall. Rather than placing the responsibility for the demise of his party's popularity upon his colleagues, Saxe-Coburg, undoubtedly the public face of the Simeon II National Movement and the primary, if not sole, reason for the party's initial success, should own up to his share of this burden, roll up his shirt-sleeves, and get to work on correcting the mistakes of the party.

In sincere love of Bulgaria,

Debi L. Lastinger

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