Bulgarian politicians condemn Trump assassination attempt

Bulgarian politicians from across the political spectrum strongly condemned the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and wished him and the injured a speedy recovery, while the leader of the pro-Russian nationalists blamed liberals and globalists for what he called a wave of violence without offering an argument.

“I strongly condemn the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump. Violence and hatred threaten the democratic process and are unacceptable,” President Rumen Radev wrote in X.

“Violence has no place in a civilised and democratic world”, Boyko Borissov, leader of GERB (EPP), parliament’s largest group, wrote on Facebook.

“We should all know that hate speech only divides our societies,” he added.

“In Bulgaria, the language of hatred between politicians is becoming more and more acute and visible. The division between people is dangerous, and I have long warned that it will not lead to anything good. That is why we reiterate that we count on political maturity in the upcoming election campaign without hate speech,” Borissov wrote.

Bulgaria is facing its seventh election in three years after another snap vote in June, as GERB failed to secure the necessary support for its nominated government.

“Violence can never be a solution to political differences. The shooting of former President Donald Trump is an unacceptable act,” Kiril Petkov, co-leader of the pro-European coalition “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria”, wrote on Facebook.

“Democracy is an opportunity for choice, not shooting the opponent,” said Delyan Peevski, co-leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms DPS (Renew Europe), who has been sanctioned by the US and the UK for corruption.

DPS is currently embroiled in a scandal, with its founder and honorary president Ahmed Dogan calling on Peevski to resign. Dogan’s supporters have been expelled by Peevski from the DPS parliamentary group, and thus, from a second parliamentary force, the party has dropped to a fourth force and cannot get a second mandate to form a government.

“The escalation of political confrontation and the blatant assault on the life of a world political leader such as US presidential candidate Donald Trump is of great concern. Everyone must unite in the search for dialogue, acceptance of differences and blocking hate speech,” Peevski added.

“Democracy is in danger! Shooting a politician is a gross violation of democracy and undermines the basic principles of a democratic society,” said MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk, deputy leader of the DPS and co-chair of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

“After the shooting of the prime minister of Slovakia, there was a shooting of Trump today. We condemn political violence in all its forms,” said Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the pro-Russian nationalists Vazrazhdane (Europe of Sovereign Nations).

“We express our full support for Donald Trump. We wish him a speedy recovery and victory in the elections this autumn. Vazrazhdane points out that the main blame for the wave of violence lies with the liberal-globalist elite, which uses its media channels to spread a constant stream of hate speech. The fact that pro-American parties in Bulgaria did not condemn the assassination of Fico and are now silent about the attack on Trump is telling,” Kostadinov writes.

This is not the case, as the attempt on Fico’s life was widely condemned by all political forces in the country.

(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)

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