Un parti nationaliste radical en Bulgarie: Ataka ou le mal-etre du postcommunisme

In: Critique internationale: revue comparative de sciences sociales, Heft 1, S. 41-56

Abstract

A taka's victory in the June 2005 legislative elections came as a surprise. This nationalist coalition borrows its platform both from the extreme right (anti-Turk & anti-Roma sentiments) & the extreme left (anti-Americanism, nostalgia for an authoritarian socialist state) while cultivating a degree of anti-Semitism. Two months earlier, Bulgaria had signed its Accession Treaty to the European Union. With a steady growth rate, rising foreign investment & the gradual catching-up of the new middle class' incomes, the country seemed about to complete its post-communist "transition." What does the emergence of a radical political group signify this late in the course of change? Volen Siderov's party scores first of all translate the rejection of a political class accused of defending individual interests at the expense of the common good. This success also reflects the tensions caused by the brutal post-communist transformations & the disorientation that has accompanied them. Last of all, they indicate frustrations with respect to an international community (the IMF, the United States & the European Union) that has obliged the country to enact unpopular measures in the name of standards that it often disregards itself. It would be unwise to turn a deaf ear to the questions raised by Ataka. Notwithstanding Siderov's electoral gains, these issues are due to remain in the public space for a certain time. Adapted from the source document.