Войната в Украйна в ракурса на предизборната кампания за 49-ото обикновено народно събрание

Abstract

The crisis in political speech in our country (2022 – 2023) was strongly influenced by the military conflict in Ukraine that officially began on February 26, 2022. The war, which has shaken politics at the international level, has exposed the thick red lines between political entities in Bulgaria, deepening the parliamentary crisis that has reached a state of collapse in the past year and a half. And the media – intentionally or not, became a witness and accomplice to what was happening. The relevance of the chosen topic is dictated by the need to analyze the political speech regarding the military conflict in Ukraine during the election campaign for the fifth consecutive early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria (April 2, 2023). In the analysis, the author refers to the messages from the political formations and the position they take on the war, as well as their media coverage. The positions of media experts are presented. Sociological surveys were also examined, which show the attitude of the voters on the question. The goals of the development are to make an attempt to analyze the behavior of the main political subjects in our country regarding the war in Ukraine, the position they take, as well as the messages they send to the voters; to examine the results of each party’s strategy and how far it was able to influence the election result; to offer a prediction about the future development of the parties (possible and impossible partners) in the perspective of their political speech related to the military conflict. The pre-election campaign for the 49th Ordinary National Assembly was marked by the theme of the war in Ukraine and made it necessary for political subjects to clearly define their position on the conflict both to the voters and to their competitors, but also to future potential partners in the attempt to form a cabinet. In the current uncertain domestic political and international situation, the Bulgarian voter demonstrates the need for clearly stated and categorical positions in which to recognize his convictions.