When you are in a car that, even with the best available snow tyres, is struggling to stay on an even keel amid furrows of snow and slick ice on what is meant to be a European highway, it rings hollow to hear the assurances of Bulgarian authorities that they are doing a fine job.
In the aftermath of the heavy snowfalls that began on January 1, lives were lost, vehicles damaged in collisions or from skidding off roads, many settlements left without electricity and water, trains and buses delayed and the working year started late, as large numbers of people said it was not possible to reach their places of employment.
The response of the Government and various national institutions has been to tell us that they did a good job, and in those cases where the response was insufficient, that it was not their job at all. Disaster Management Minister Emel Etem told us that Bulgaria lacks the capacity for proper weather forecasts, which is difficult to believe and in any case, if true, means that the Government should immediately do something to boost resources so that it can foretell the weather.
As was the case with the floods of recent years, it is an inappropriate response on the part of national Government to blame mayors for shortcomings in responses to problems caused by bad weather. Similarly, it is inappropriate for mayors to attempt to shift the focus to national Government, as happened in at least one case, with the mayor of Sofia.
Bulgaria’s roads are unsafe enough without compounding the situation by failing to ensure that contractors clean them properly. It is mildly encouraging that some national and municipal contracts are being reviewed; probably all such contracts should be reviewed to ensure that the work is done, and at a cost that is appropriate.
It is ridiculous to promote Bulgaria’s tourism and real estate markets and at the same time tolerate a situation - because to attempt to conveniently shift blame elsewhere is tantamount to tolerance - in which people cannot travel to and from resorts and mountain properties. This made it all the more ironic to hear Government figures say that people should not be travelling. Is the Government, national and municipal, really abdicating its responsibility to keep transport networks functioning and by extension, other economic activity such as the winter tourism industry and - after the New Year holiday, employees going back to their jobs?
It is not difficult to imagine that by the time that roads are cleared of piles of snow and perilous ice, the issue will evaporate. The question of, if it is true that the Disaster Management Ministry exists to do little more than send out warning letters, the need for stronger co-ordination will go unanswered. Parliament may or may not hold another futile debate on a motion of no-confidence, achieving nothing more than exchanges of political point-scoring while failing to address the substantive issues that disrupt the lives of ordinary and vulnerable people.
Until, of course, all this snow and ice start to melt, possibly bringing another bout of floods, another bout of tragic and alarming stories, another bout of mutual finger-pointing; and when the meltdown is over, the skies clear and the waters recede, another bout of national amnesia and national inertia.
