When supporters of the once mighty right-wing party, the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), vote on June 7 to elect Bulgarian members to the European Parliament they may face a dilemma. Two people now claim to lead the party that wants to be a decisive player after the two elections this summer (elections for Bulgarian Parliament are set for July 5). Even more worryingly, both have different views on the UDF’s tactics in the elections.

In one corner is businessman Plamen Yuroukov who decided not to seek re-election as UDF leader in his party’s December 2008 internal elections. In the other corner is newly elected leader Martin Dimitrov.

To complicate matters further, the pivotal ruling in this otherwise internal quarrel came from a court whose tardiness seemed to confirm one of the European Commission’s most frequent charges - namely the painful slowness of Bulgaria’s legislative system.   

From a legal point of view the argument is between Yuroukov, who is still registered by the court as the UDF’s official leader, and Dimitrov, the victor in his party’s internal elections. By law any change in a party leadership must be registered in court. Naturally, following his election, Dimitrov filed for such a registration before the Sofia city court. Unfortunately, it took the court about four months to say that he could not be registered as such.

Strike one
On April 13 the court ruled that the election was in breach of the UDF’s own rules. In effect this meant that although Dimitrov enjoyed his party’s near unanimous support, Yuroukov was still the legally recognised leader. "Not to worry," Yuroukov said at the time. "I will act as one (leader) until Dimitrov solves his issues with the court." The declaration seemed to indicate harmonious relations. And at that point Dimitrov’s formal registration seemed just days away. It seemed that Dimitrov would continue acting as the true leader, holding talks with other parties and preparing the battleground for elections.

Yuroukov - it was hoped - would sing from the same song sheet. The two even staged a media stunt by meeting on a sunny afternoon in the garden of a popular Sofia cafe to demonstrate their closeness. Dimitrov continued to pursue the same agenda he had followed when running for the UDF’s leadership: an electoral coalition with the other right-wing party, the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB). Such a coalition, Dimitrov claimed, would end eight years of division among the right-wing parties and boost their chances of joining Boiko Borissov’s party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (abbreviated in Bulgarian as GERB), in a coalition.

Dimitrov said his goal was to dispense with the two current ruling parties, the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). Such a right-wing coalition was formed in April under the name "The Blue Coalition". For the first time in years it seemed that the UDF and the DSB could work together.

Strike two
On April 30 the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) gave its verdict on Dimitrov’s appeal against the Sofia City Court’s April 13 decision. The SCC rejected the basis of the previous ruling. But, instead of registering him as leader, the SCC returned the case for retrial. The looming May 12 deadline for registering the party for the MEPs elections was a particular obstacle for Dimitrov. The situation reached boiling point a few hours after the SCC’s ruling. Yuroukov, in his capacity as the only registered UDF leader, filed UDF’s documents before the Central Election Committee (CEC). According to these documents, the UDF will face elections alone, not in coalition with the DSB.

"It’s better to have some kind of registration for the elections rather than none at all," he said by way of justification. But Dimitrov and most UDF officials described his actions as a betrayal. As a consequence Yuroukov and Plamen Radonov, who helped him file the documents before the CEC, were expelled from the UDF. Dimitrov then filed a complaint before the CEC to annul the UDF’s registration.

A question?
With Dimitrov busily parading his leadership’s legitimacy, one question remains. Who benefits from having a right-wing shattered by internal conflicts that would only demoralise its supporters? Dimitrov says the victors are the BSP and the MRF who saw a UDF-DSB coalition as a threat to their survival in power. Such an allegation is easy to make because both Borissov and the Blue Coalition have demonstrated warm feelings for each other.

According to some survey polls, a ruling coalition between them is not such a far-fetched idea. However, such a scheme would need to be rubberstamped by the court beforehand. And, according to some people, this means that "someone" had influenced both the Sofia City Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation to delay its ruling.