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Maxim Behar: There is no winner, we all lost

Maxim Behar: There is no winner, we all lost

One word: shame

What - I hope - all Bulgarians saw on Wednesday evening at the so-called debate, can be characterized by only one word - shame. For the politicians, for their consultants, for their supporters, advisers, headquarters... but shame for us too, that on Sunday we are faced with the absurd situation of electing one of them.

Whatever the reason was that Kiril Petkov appeared in the studio, it should have been accepted as something normal, even super positive - a leader of one of the parties comes to a debate to defend the position of the party, the program, if there is one, to tell what will happen if that particular political force comes to power.

So far so good, but nothing like this happened! How is it even possible for someone to behave so arrogantly and rudely, not only in a studio, but even on the street... Is this how Kiril Petkov or anyone else will rule if they win the elections?

The exit of Donchev and Sacheva was the other side of the absurd situation - it should not be a problem that Petkov or anyone else is there. Even better because it could have really become a "leadership debate". Walking out of the studio at the last pre-election debate is a desperate display of weakness and disrespect for the voters. Where was Boyko Borisov in this campaign? One sided talk in front of a selected audience is a bad, very bad advisor and does nothing to help a leader, nor a party, even less Bulgaria.

We needed a real professional debate, with arguments, with concepts, with facts... It didn't work out, and even though I'm a hopeless optimist, what I saw threw me literally into serious thinking.

A television channel cannot and should not dictate to political parties who should come and in which studio. This is decided by the political power itself and should be its right, and we as voters should have the right to hear everyone.

I do not believe that I have a colleague in the PR business, I repeat - a sane one, who can advise one side to leave and the other to behave arrogantly. I don't know who consults "We continue the change" and GERB, and I don't care. But if they made Petkov behave arrogantly, as well as GERB run away, then they should change their profession. In this sense, there is no winner from this incident, we all lost, Bulgaria lost.