He introduced the “Greek” system, dropped it from the game
After 4 accidents in the same tree, the drivers of Bulgaria probably come to the conclusion that they must now go around it. Just one more time and that’s it.
“Even if we go to the elections,” said Boyko Borisov the other day, “we must think after the fifth vote – either there must be a government, or we must actually think about the system, changing the votes, if you will.” And what kind of change should be thought of? “To go to the Greek option with a bonus to the winning party, whatever it is, a majoritarian system if you will, whatever.”
“Whatever” is a cheerful attitude towards the most important and structural factor of the political system. Apparently, something is being whispered in the corridors of GERB, there are some discussions going on, in which bad ideas generally win. One of the signs is that Georgi Markov renounced his sympathies for the Hungarian electoral system – apparently he sensed which way the wind was blowing. But the most interesting thing is who pushed the idea of the Greek system with the bonus to Boyko Borisov. He probably didn’t mean the best for him.
Before years
Berlusconi introduced such a system ostensibly for his own benefit, but it ate into his head –
his party collapsed in the next election, the bonus was snatched by the opposition, and he himself was subjected to legal trouble. He even went to jail. Yes, Bate should be very careful with this “expert”. The Greek system is as follows – 250 deputies are elected by party lists, and the first party is given a bonus of 50 mandates. For GERB, it sounds very tempting – after all, it is the first party. If in our country in October 2022 the system was “reinforced” with a 50 mandate bonus, now GERB would have 117 mandates instead of 67. This is already a different song.
But as soon as a politician introduces such a system, the electorate pulls a punch.
I have already mentioned Berlusconi in Italy. Greece has the same experience. In 1990, Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis imposed an even bigger bonus because he was confident that his “New Democracy” had a tie for first place. But the Greeks took great offense and in 1993 gave the victory to PASOK, which with the bonus took 57% of the mandates. Mitsotakis resigned as party chairman and never returned. Someone directs Boyko there too. The idea of a “bonus” is so charlatan that the average person is filled with disgust.
The elite are a different breed – they think in a different way. But still the people need it for one day every 4 years. The main reason for the “proportional system” is that it supposedly distributes the mandates between the parties more fairly. But what is a proportional system that cancels proportion? Mess with the electorate. That’s how people see it and punish the mocker.
The interesting thing is that the Bulgarian politician keeps pulling him towards charlatans. Instead of learning from the greats of democracy, we’re always taking handfuls from the couplers. I don’t want to insult Greece, it is far ahead with the material than our brother, but speaking of modern democracy, Greece can only be useful with its mistakes. To know what not to do.
After all, among these mistakes there is also a sensible move – after decades of bitter experience, the Greeks wrote in their constitution that if a parliament changes the rules again, they will only apply to the next elections. While in power (2015-2019), SYRIZA abolished bonuses, but this will only be implemented now, in July. And in the next elections, which will be in 2027 at the latest, the bonuses will return again.
Our rulers are still green and that’s why they like to change the system right before the elections.
And the result still surprises them unpleasantly.
As I said, if we are going to learn, let’s learn from the greats – England, France, USA, Canada, Switzerland and so on. Greece, Belgium, Italy, Spain are not among them. Where there is a party-list electoral system, there is the same crisis as in Bulgaria. And where there are majoritarian elections, such a crisis is impossible.
The defeats of the party-list system are much deeper than the fact that the parliament is fragmented. Look at the kind of people who become MPs – all qualified charlatans. The latest scandal with NEXO gave new vivid examples. For 2 years, we have looked at pathological egoists who neither know who their voter is, nor do they have any cause, nor do they care about the Bulgarian interest. Therefore, the government draws them like butterflies to a lamp.
It is obvious that today’s MPs are appointed by the oligarchy, and the crisis is the result of the war between the various oligarchic groups. Added to this is the colonial pressure. A political elite that is not directly and by name elected by the people can easily be taken over from outside. And this is exactly what is happening before our eyes. Shall I give examples? No, I don’t mean to offend the powerless of the day. The strangest thing is that among the enemies of the only true majority vote are the patriotic parties. “Vazrazhdane” does not say a word about the subject. Now “Vazrazhdane” will hold a referendum against the euro – I personally agree with this, but why did you forget about the referendum of 2016?
In the entire Bulgarian history, there is no more powerful and vivid manifestation of direct democracy.
And the political class threw this referendum in the trash.
Grant experts, one by one, stood against the will of the people. The same ones that Kostadin Kostadinov threatens to expel. No way, under this electoral system they’re more likely to kick him out.
“Vazrazhdane” itself entered the parliament with 250 thousand votes. And 2 million and 500 thousand Bulgarian citizens voted for a majority vote in 2 rounds. A patriot who forgets this is no patriot at all. Look, with politicians dependent on the embassies, it is understandable – their mission is to support colonization. Here I do not exclude the professional Russophiles, who generally consider democracy to be shmenti-capella, because that is what Dugin and Fursov teach them.
These days I will submit a request to the “America for Bulgaria” foundation to finance a development on the topic: “Why the American electoral system should be introduced in Bulgaria”. When I receive the grant, I will call you.