Bulgaria had an exciting weekend. Not only they humiliated the Dutch in a football world cup qualification match with 2-0 but last Sunday the advanced Bulgarian parliament elections came to a result. The GERB, conservative and pro-EU, won the elections. Not that surprisingly but still delicate because their leader Borisov resigned as PM after the loss of his candidate Tacheva to socialist and Russia focused Radev in the presidential elections in November last year.

However, GERB only won about a third of parliament seats so a (probably long) coalition negotiation is on its way. But, like most Bulgarians, even Borisov has a weak spot for Russia and Putin so maybe that will drive coalition success together with Ninova of the BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party).

Deal maker or breaker could be Karadya of the MDL (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) representing the 700.000 Turkish minority. In a only 7 MIO population country this is something to take care about. The Ottoman sword of Erdogan as a neighbour reaches most definitely into EU borders here.

I was priviledged to drive through the Bulgarian inlands recently and was struck by its beauty but by its torn apart nature as well. Completely abandoned villages where older people moved to big cities like Sofia and the younger even left the country were interspersed with flowering EU sponsored towns looking to the future in good spirits. This country really deserves some good leadership and some help to flower again as it did centuries ago.

Election season is not over. Vote with your mind, heart and soul (in that order :))) 

(many thanks to the great cartoons of STASKL)