Prominent Bulgarian television journalist Maria Tsantsarova has been the subject of a scathing political attack by the radical pro-Russian party Vazrazhdane and the populists of There Is Such a People days before snap parliamentary elections scheduled for 27 October.
On Monday, There is Such a People leader Slavi Trifonov, a former host of a talk show on national private television BTV, said that because of Tsantsarova, he had “put an end to the guest appearances of his people” on the morning political show.
Tsantsarova’s critical questions to a There is Such a People representative is behaviour that is “absolutely unacceptable, unprofessional, tendentious, humiliating, suggestive of pettiness and a lack of integrity and respect,” Trifonov said.
On Monday, the guest on BTV‘s morning political talk show was There is Such a People parliamentary candidate Stanislav Balabanov, who was visibly angered by Tsantsarova’s questions. Balabanov said the journalist looked like former prime minister Kiril Petkov, the main political opponent of There is Such a People.
In response, Tsantsarova said that Balabanov resembled Delyan Peevski, a politician sanctioned by the US for corruption and known for his rude behaviour.
The pre-election attack on the journalist, known for her sharp questions to her guests, was launched a week ago by Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov, who directly called Tsantsarova a “liar” and refused to answer her questions.
After appearing on the talk show on bTV, Kostadinov continued attacking the journalist, calling her a “transvestite” on social media, and the channel came out in her defence.
The conflict between Vazrazhdane and Tsantsarova began three years ago when the journalist revealed that four MPs from the pro-Russian party, who were agitating Bulgarian citizens not to be vaccinated against COVID-19, had actually been vaccinated.
In September 2024, Vazrazhdane and There is such a people aggressively blocked the adoption of climate legislation, allowing Bulgaria to receive nearly €5 billion from Brussels under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan.
The latest polls give Vazrazhdane a chance of becoming the second political force in the country with 15.5% support, and There Is a People has the support of around 6% of Bulgarian voters.
Bulgaria is ranked 59th in the Reporters Without Borders media freedom index, although the country has made great strides in the last four years. The positive change began after Delyan Peevski sold his media group, and his influence on the media was cited by RSF as the main reason for the lack of media freedom in the country.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
Source: euractiv.com
