Who do you vote for?

[LordShiva]

:groan:

[Tattila the Hun]

Banana

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Gangerolf
runoff between parvanov and siderov on sunday.
because less than 50% bothered to vote (of bulgarians, not apolytonians)

Yup, I really gotta vote Parvanov now

[RGBVideo]

BBC said:
Incumbent Georgi Parvanov - who negotiated Bulgaria's entry into the EU - is facing a growing challenge from far-right candidate Volen Siderov.

Our correspondent says he remains one of Bulgaria's most popular politicians, but is facing a stronger challenge than expected from Mr Siderov, who has been compared to the French ultra-nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen.

"far-right" and "ultra-nationalist" are exactly the kind of labels I presume to be stickied on a man who's trying to end the corrupt rule of big government, which curiously enough also include public TV companies with politically appointed leadership positions...

I like it how they use weasel words, though. "Mr. X, Who has been compared to a bad guy"... who has compared him to a bad guy?

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by VJ
"far-right" and "ultra-nationalist" are exactly the kind of labels I presume to be stickied on a man who's trying to end the corrupt rule of big government...

If the links I provided aren't outright lying, here are some elements about Siderov:

Election Campaign Highlights:

1. To ban the ethnic Turkish Movements for Rights and Freedoms party and pronounce it an anti-constitutional formation.

2. To overpower the "sell-out non-Bulgarian government with a Bulgarian, national and responsible one".

3. To grant Bulgarian citizenship to two million Bulgarians who currently live abroad.

4. To ask Turkey for the USD 10 B that they owed Bulgaria since 1913.

5. To take the news in Turkish off the air of the National TV.

6. To restore the state system and bring mafia villains to book by means of a specially established bureau for investigation and return of stolen funds.

7. To protect the interests of Bulgarian manufacturers and contractors in the conditions of EU-membership.

8. To save the proven safe units of Bulgaria's Nuclear Power Plant from closing.

9. To hold referendums on matters of national interest (military bases in Bulgaria, political unions, Bulgarian servicemen abroad, etc.)

10. To expose all jobbery of previous governments and of the law enforcement structures connected with them.

So, a leader who wants to disempower a minority at home, while willing to empower his ethnical group living abroad (notice that it isn't about giving them nationality easily if they express the wish to come back: it is about giving them nationality outright).

This strikes me as ultra-nationalist, to say the least.



Also, if you assume that the BBC doesn't outright mistranslate or lie, here are some gems from an Ataka rally in March:

Ataka party leader Volen Siderov told the crowd that ethnic minorities such as Turks and Gypsies should not be allowed into the Bulgarian government.

"Let's give Bulgaria back to the Bulgarians," Mr Siderov told the crowd. "Bulgaria is not yet free. Bulgaria is still under Turkish rule."

A mainly Turkish party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, is part of the coalition government along with the Socialist Party and the National Movement.

(That's the party he wants to ban)

Full article

[Vince278]

How about Dr. Pavlov? His platform has me drooling.

[chequita guevara]

One communist and six different flavors of nationalist? Gee, hard choice.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Vince278
How about Dr. Pavlov? His platform has me drooling.

Dr. Pavlov, huh? He rings a bell...

[chequita guevara]

[Whoha]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
One communist and six different flavors of nationalist? Gee, hard choice.

you bet,they should combine 2 or 3 of those parties to get the nationalistic patriotic attack party.

[Elok]

Better yet, they could combine them and form a National Socialist par....wait, no, that's bad. Very bad.

[Whoha]

socialists,nationalists,workers? it would never happen.