The week in news: Vazrazhdane blacklists pro-human rights teachers, Glavchev to try proposing a new caretaker cabinet, Two thirds of Bulgarians support liberal democracy

Dimitar Glavchev (left) and Rumen Radev

The week in news: Vazrazhdane blacklists pro-human rights teachers, Glavchev to try proposing a new caretaker cabinet, Two thirds of Bulgarians support liberal democracy

Dimitar Glavchev (left) and Rumen Radev

© Velko Angelov


Vazrazhdane names teachers opposing anti-LGBTQ law

The pro-Russian party, which pushed through parliament a strongly discriminatory law against alleged LGBTQ "propaganda" in schools with the help of sections of GERB, BSP, MRF, TISP and Velichie two weeks ago, continued to harangue those sections of civil society condemning the controversial law. Despite international organizations voicing their opposition, including the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, the law was ratified after President Radev failed to veto it last week.

On Tuesday, the Varna party section of Vazrazhdane published on Facebook a "black list" containing the names, workplaces and fields of teaching of 26 educators from the seaside town who signed a petition against the controversial amendments. Later the same day, the leader of Vazrazhdane Kostadin Kostadinov personally announced live on Facebook that his party had filed a report with the prosecutor's office against all 800 teachers, principals and school psychologists who supported the petition. "This is a list of people who want to break the law. People who don't want to follow the law, what do we call them? Criminals, of course," Kostadinov said.

Glavchev hints he might propose a caretaker cabinet without Kalin Stoyanov

The current caretaker PM Dimitar Glavchev was once again nominated by President Rumen Radev and received the mandate to form a new caretaker cabinet from the head of state on Thursday. He has until Monday to return it with the composition of a caretaker cabinet. While handing over the mandate, Radev insisted that the future government should make countering the bought and controlled vote its top priority, by which he hinted that the new cabinet ought not include the controversial name of Kalin Stoyanov as caretaker internal minister.

Glavchev's re-nomination came after the president's refusal to sign the decree appointing the caretaker cabinet proposed by Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva over the presence of Stoyanov in it. Also, the parliamentary parties showed reluctance to fill the list of potential PM nominees from which Radev could choose. Thus, the president was left with very few options. If the president signs the decree appointing Glavchev's second government, the date of the snap parliamentary elections will be 27 October.

A third of Bulgarians want to live in a dictatorship, two thirds - in a democracy: Alpha Research

While Bulgaria still has a stable pro-democracy majority that prefers the country to remain part of the EU and NATO, there are also strong authoritarian leanings in some parts of society. These are the results of a nationally representative survey on the attitudes of Bulgarian society on key socio-political and geopolitical issues, conducted by Alpha Research on behalf of the Foundation for Humanitarian and Social Research published this week.

In general, two thirds (64%) of Bulgarians want to live in a country with Western liberal democracy, while a startling one third (just over 30%) prefer to live in some type of dictatorship - an authoritarian regime (20.8%), a communist regime (9.4%) or a country with a military regime (1.8%). At the same time, the percentage of Bulgarians preferring NATO and EU membership is slightly up on previous years, but so too is the share of opponents of the two organizations, who increase as the number of undecided decreases.

Patriarch Danail asks the US ambassador to stand by the pro-Russian church in Ukraine

Bulgarian Patriarch Danail, who has repeatedly expressed pro-Russian positions, urged the US Ambassador to Bulgaria Kenneth Mertens to ensure that his country supports the preservation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is canonically subordinate to the Russian Church and has engaged in pro-Russian propaganda since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022.

A Holy Synod statement said the meeting between the Bulgarian Patriarch and the US ambassador took place on Tuesday at the Synod building. According to the press service of the Synod. In his conversation with the US ambassador, Danail paid "special attention" to the issue of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is led by Metropolitan Onufry.

Vazrazhdane names teachers opposing anti-LGBTQ law

The pro-Russian party, which pushed through parliament a strongly discriminatory law against alleged LGBTQ "propaganda" in schools with the help of sections of GERB, BSP, MRF, TISP and Velichie two weeks ago, continued to harangue those sections of civil society condemning the controversial law. Despite international organizations voicing their opposition, including the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, the law was ratified after President Radev failed to veto it last week.

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