After weeks of discussions, the three major right-wing parties in opposition came up with a motto that is to unite Bulgarians against the Government.

The magic line, according to the parties, is “I am a European”.

One of the right-wing leaders said that by describing themselves as Europeans, Bulgarians would no longer tolerate a “Government that steals billions”. This leader said that such a Government was something that Europeans could not stand and that’s why they had come up with the motto.

So, in their attempt to bring down the Government, the opposition is asking Bulgarians to go out on the streets and protest, not in feeling like Bulgarians, but like Europeans, implying that one is better than the other.

Here comes a small contradiction.

When Bulgaria was preparing to join the European Union, every politician in the country, no matter from which party s/he was, put a lot of effort into explaining to Bulgarians that they were not joining Europe, but a political and economic alliance of certain European countries.

National pride was defended by hundreds of historians and public officials, among whom prominent geographers, who said that Bulgaria had been part of Europe since the year 681, when the first Bulgarian kingdom was founded.

And now, in the year and a half since Bulgaria has become a member of this alliance, Bulgarians are being asked not only to behave, but also feel like Europeans, and not Bulgarians.

I only wonder what would happen if the French were asked by their politicians to feel European and not French. Or the Greeks, for that matter. Ok, I know that many will say that the Greeks, for example, have been staging protest after protest against their government, while Bulgarians quietly stay home waiting for the next general elections to arrive. This is true, but not quite.

A brief look at why Europeans (a group to which Bulgarians obviously do not belong, according to the right wing) have been staging protests recently shows that their protests have been economically driven, whether because of taxes, pensions, salaries or a lack of state subsidies.

These are exactly the same reasons that Bulgarian medics, pensioners, steel workers, teachers, farmers and live stock breeders have been staging protest after protest for the past two years.

So where is the difference between the protests staged by Bulgarians and the “Europeans”, one might ask?

One reason comes to mind, and this is the fact that all protests staged in Bulgaria lately have stayed away from being politically motivated. Economically, yes, but politically, no. And maybe this is what has made right-wing parties call this behaviour un-European.

One conclusion might be that the opposition has simply lost Bulgarians’ trust that they could be an alternative to the current Government.

This line about “I am an European” also gives Bulgarians the right to ask politicians if they are European politicians, as well.

After all, if being a European is set as a criterion for being a good citizen, then this should also apply to the ones who have set it.

The general rule, not only in Europe but in the entire world, is for parties, especially those in opposition, to present ideas. In this respect, the Bulgarian opposition has failed to set a good example.

Because this was what became clear just a few days ago, when the three parties asked the trade unions for support. The trade unions’ plain and simple answer was that the three parties had brought nothing new to what the Government was doing at the moment. Surprisingly, none of the three parties said anything to challenge that statement, in a way admitting that they were not an alternative to the Government they wanted to get rid of.

If this is what it takes to be a European, then I will gladly stay Bulgarian.