»
Oct 03, 2006:
Although Volen Siderov, th? leader ?f th? Ataka party, is not expected t? win this month’s election, opinion polls suggest he will get enough votes t? challenge Georgi Parvanov, th? incumbent, in ? second round. th? scale ?f his support has set off alarm bells in Brussels ?s Bulgaria prepares t? join th? European Union. ?t ? rally in th? town ?f Dobrich, Siderov, ?n admirer ?f Jean-Marie Le Pen, th? leader ?f th? French National Front, whipped up supporters wh? chanted his name along with aggressive anti-minority rhetoric.
“Give Bulgaria back t? Bulgarians,” has become th? catchphrase ?f his party, which won more than 8% ?f th? vote in ? general election last year. Minority parties, especially those th?t represent ethnic Turks and th? Roma community, have come in f?r particular criticism.
Siderov has tapped into popular unrest ?b?ut crime among th? 600,000 Roma. “Stop th? gypsy terror!” he screamed ?n TV.
Katinka Barysch, ?f th? Centre f?r European Reform, said such populists were capitalising ?n disillusionment with th? high expectations ?f EU membership.
“Of course there ?r? losers wh? don’t gain immediately, and then some demagogue comes along and says it is th? fault ?f th? gypsies and such things,” she said.
Siderov, 50, ? former journalist, is being pursued in th? courts f?r alleged ethnic and sexual discrimination. He also has no love f?r property buyers fr?m Britain.
“A lot ?f English come here t? buy property and feel like conquerors because it is very cheap. But they ?r? saying Bulgarians should not come t? England. If England limits Bulgarians then Bulgaria must restrict English people,” he said.
Boyko Todorov, ?f Sofia’s Centre f?r th? Study ?f Democracy, said: “There is general dissatisfaction with th? way politics is conducted. th?t ’s why he’s so popular.”
But there w?s another reason, Todorov argued. “Siderov is ? very good speaker and you don’t get th?t often among Bulgarian politicians — 99.9% ?f them ?r? unbelievably boring.”
www.timesonline.co.uk
|
