How liberal economic policy undermines democracy in Bulgaria, w/ Arto Artinian

“On the Barricades” s05e45

On October 2 Bulgaria held its fourth round of parliamentary elections in 18 months, seeing the previously-ousted mafia-profiled Boiko Borisov and his GERB party back to power with 25% of the votes, just ahead of the previously-governing liberal party of pro-NATO hard-liners. However the voter turnout was record low, despite the rift between popular sentiment and the previous government's pro-NATO inclinations on Bulgaria’s involvement in the war in Ukraine– and some appearance of this in the pre-election debate, for instance with the anti-NATO “pro-Russian” party Revival taking 10% of the votes. The parliamentary crisis continues with elected representatives’ unwillingness to form a governing coalition. But likely it will be forced by imperialist influences as needed for a war the West can’t afford to lose.

Reflecting on the current situation in Bulgaria and just why the political system is a complete failure, and how the liberal economic order completely undermines any chance at democracy in Bulgaria, we have repeat-guest Arto Artinian on this week’s release of “On the Barricades.” Arto is a Bulgarain leftist and professor of sociology at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York.

Arto and hosts Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat discuss:

1:00 The election results and why parliamentary democracy is a complete failure in Bulgaria
6:50 Why did 60% of the population not show up to vote? Why did all electoral attempts at real change lead nowhere?
17:42 Who to blame: the politicians? How was this process of decline possible from the start
50:22 How Russiaphobia/ Russiaphilia operates in Bulgaria and Romania, and what it’s based on.