Since 1989, Bulgarian politics has offered a bleak landscape for the Left. With all mainstream parties united by the same neoliberal dogmas, the only difference lies in their greater or lesser embrace of reactionary cultural prejudices. The current government is a coalition between the center-right GERB (“Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria”) and three far-right parties. While GERB stands for austerity, its far-right coalition partners stand for austerity and open racism.

The main opposition, the nominally center-left Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), is hardly any better. Successor to the old Communist Party, in government in the 2000s it established a flat 10 percent income tax rate — mostly benefiting the winners of post-1989 privatization. Promising more of the same in this month’s European elections, the BSP has withdrawn backing for its only remaining left-wing member of the European Parliament (MEP). Its candidates do however include a private investment fund specialist and a nationalist politician and TV presenter.

This is grimly typical of Bulgaria’s main parties, led by hereditary elites who shuffle through the revolving door between corporate life and public office. The country has no meaningful left-wing opposition, and voices for policies like a fairer distribution of wealth and environmental protection are silenced.