Maxim Behar's Blog, page 4

Maxim Behar for Bloomberg TV Bulgaria: How to Increase Voter Turnout in Bulgaria

Maxim Behar is a guest on the show Investor Club on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria with anchor Ivaylo Lakov. Behar commented on the voter activity of the upcoming Bulgarian parliamentary and presidential elections, the election campaigns, the competition in politics and what are the right methods of communication between the candidates and the society.

Host: Maxim Behar is with me in the studio. Hello Maxim, welcome, thank you for being here!

Maxim Behar: Good evening!

Host: What impresses you the most when watching the election campaign - let's start here.

Maxim Behar: It is already very sluggish, we all know that, both politicians and voters, the whole society is tired. Third elections for this year - it has never happened in Bulgaria before. Very sluggish, very uninteresting and I bet there are no clear concepts, no ideas, nothing to make us think, beyond the difference in people - because new candidates have appeared, we all know them, and they are young, more intelligent, more assertive, but even from them we do not hear anything interesting. I think that on November 14, people will vote again, I hope outside Bulgaria too, but they will vote a little rashly.

Host: Mentioning young, assertive, intelligent people - this week's decision by the Bulgarian Constitutional Court to invalidate the President's decree appointing the first caretaker government, in the part concerning the caretaker Minister of Economy Kiril Petkov (candidate for Prime Minister) and his dual citizenship. What role do you think this will play for his political party campaign: positive or negative?

Maxim Behar: Of course, I am not a lawyer, nor you can comment on the legal part of this case, but I think that those voters who stand firmly behind the political party ���We Continue the Change���, with Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev as leaders, will consolidate even more. Again, I do not comment on the legal part, I think that this act will definitely consolidate these voters even more, if they have hesitated between the ideas of Kiril Petkov or the ideas of the political party ���Yes, Bulgaria��� or the ideas of other formations as they may overlap or liken them as related or close. Now I think that they will be now more firmly behind the party of Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev, in which we can see many reasonable messages, as in many other political campaigns as well. But we can't expect anything... there are a lot of people who are tired of power, messages and voting. A long time ago, right after the first elections actually, I offered a round table between the political parties and then many people called me and told me that I want to bring Bulgaria back to the 90s and so on. This is a completely different round table that I suggest - the political parties should sit down and not bargain for positions and benefits. They have to talk about the needs of Bulgaria. We see what's going on, and since you also mentioned the window ... Well, you can't see very good things through the window.

Host: For me, the biggest problem is that none of the parties gives a horizon to Bulgaria. What is this thing that gives people perspective?

Maxim Behar: We had the prospect in the late 1990s, when we knew the sacred date January 1, 2007, when Bulgaria enters EU. Of course, before that, it was the year of 2004 for NATO, but it somehow went by the wayside, because NATO does not fill a house, does not fill the refrigerator, does not feed and so on. But the date January 1, 2007 was expected by all of us, especially by business, but also by those people, retirees who do not work, have no business, employees, with the great hope that the standard of living will rise sharply.

Host: It really increased. If we go back to 2007 and compare it, the difference is huge, people will be surprised.

Maxim Behar: Yes, the standard really increased, that's right, it's a fact. There is no dispute about it. Many things happened in Bulgaria since 2007, many investments came, many people developed their businesses here so that they gave jobs to many other people. We live better definitely, but you know that you always have expectations and when you live in expectations, they are always bigger, higher or just go beyond the reality. And now that 2007 has passed, and suddenly the expectations seem to have faded.

Host: But we have not completed this task, without the euro area we are not integrated into the core of the European Union.

Maxim Behar: That's true. However, on the one hand, European funds have helped us a lot, on the other hand, the European experience has helped us a lot, because these are countries with developed economies for years, for centuries. Very often someone comes home from Vienna and calls me and says: Max, if you knew how clean their streets are, if you knew what castles we saw... Wait a minute, where was Austria a century ago? It was high here, and Bulgaria was here low (significantly below). Now the difference is that Bulgaria is here (advanced from its initial level, but again below the level of Austria). Yes, Bulgaria has not yet reached Austria and probably will not do so in the next century, but now it is much closer.

Host: Yes, I would even say that five centuries will not be enough for us, but that is another matter.

Maxim Behar: No, in Bulgaria we had such a good connotation for these five centuries. It is very important if this can happen after all this great fatigue; Suddenly, the politicians should say, ���wait a minute, let's get along with the others, and let's think about Bulgaria, let's make a well-functioning market economy, because this is the basis for everything.��� There can be no charity if there are no profits in a company. There can be no investment if there are no profits, and the profits come from good competition, from a good product.

Host: What does this depend on? Some people say the judiciary system needs to be changed?

Maxim Behar: Again, I am not an expert in this field, but I think that everything should be changed. Probably the judiciary system even more so - because we work for a lot of foreign companies, we constantly discuss with them, we talk and they are worried about the very rapid change of laws and they are worried that things are not so transparent in terms of business. Who does what and how he does it.

Host: The business environment makes them feel uncomfortable.
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Maxim Behar: I think that the lack of great transparency can make an investor feel uncomfortable. I have been repeating for years that everything that is transparent is ethical. If there is transparency about how a prosecutor do his job, how a judge do it, why they made this decision, how they made it, with what arguments. If there is transparency in doing business and in payments��� see what came out with these offshore companies, for example. All this means total opacity and a desire for many people to hide income. This thing is destroying the economy, it cannot be an incentive, it cannot be a motivation for some people to do business by seeing that other people are doing things differently and they are tolerated.

Host: Isn't this a double-edged sword problem, because the world can solve the offshore problem very quickly, but it doesn't do it.

Maxim Behar: Of course, it can be solved super quickly.

Host: Because this is business.

Maxim Behar: The should not be such business, but this is my personal opinion. There should be no areas where money is hidden, no one knows who runs the company, there should be no countries where other people's money is invested, because maybe a lot of that money is fair won and probably so. But the very fact that they are in offshore zones, I think that somewhere in the subtext of this whole action, is actually to hide some money or save some taxes. That should not be the case.

Host: Well, what do you think could be the horizon of Bulgaria? The economy?

Maxim: Very good market.

Host: How can the parties make sure that the campaign is not sluggish, that it becomes interesting to the people, because at the moment it is so sluggish that you have the feeling that no one wants to rule, no one wants to form a government.

Maxim Behar: The parties cannot do that. We have said, including in this studio, I repeat it in all my books for the last 2-3 years, that the system, which for some reason we still call democracy, does not work. This system does not work. We cannot expect a man who has been involved in politics for 20 years and has gone to television studios and tried to refute opponents with some party-political arguments to expect him to put a clear and precise economic program on the table. And we need that.

Host: But you bother me a little by saying that democracy doesn't work. What is the alternative?

Maxim Behar: It seems to me, and this will happen in 5 to 10 years, we will not wait 5 centuries, it will happen very soon - the countries must begin to be governed, more or less as corporations or companies are managed. To have a board of directors ��� Council of Ministers, which to be responsible for everything and when something fails like in big companies, we all know it, the person responsible for all this - the Prime Minister, or the President, depends on the structure of the country, resigns and says 'I'm sorry' and the next one comes in power. Every single company does this thing.

Host: Yes, but that means a dictatorship of the minority over the majority. And in a democracy, the majority chooses.

Maxim Behar: It's not like that. It is not a dictatorship of the minority, because the Council of Ministers, in fact this board of directors, is also elected by shareholders, by the shareholders of a company. And the shareholders in this company are the majority. I am not saying that this is the absolute model, but I am saying that there must be responsibility in politicians and to know that if they do something wrong, they must leave immediately. Because we've all seen politicians say, 'Wait, there's an election in four years, we'll see how people vote then, whether I am right or wrong?' How can we wait for 4 years for the elections? When at the moment social media can control not only every politician, but also every citizen. Whoever made a damage, for example, in front of the building entrance, broke two saplings, then the whole Facebook group will jump against him and supervise him. And he will go and plant the trees, apologize or whatever. There must be great flexibility in politics so that politicians are responsible now, today. And when they make their decisions, they know that they may no longer be in politics tomorrow. That is, they can be in prison if they make a mistake in some way. That's where I see this change in the system and it will probably come.

Host: As for social media, it is no coincidence that you mentioned it, they govern our lives to a very large extent. I was investigating a conspiracy theory imposed by some Trump supporters in America, which states that pedophile satanists rule the world and have very deep roots and support from the Democratic Party in America. Apparently, the conspiracy theory, however, is very widespread on Facebook and they are forced at some point to delete everything related to these hashtags and get rid of everything on their platform. And now various documents are being published about Facebook, how Facebook manages people's politics and lives globally, and Trump is creating his own social network called Truth Social.

Maxim Behar: There is no other way, Facebook has around 3-4 billion users. There are many different cases, but I think that in the last 2 years they have changed a lot on their platform - they invest a lot of money, the censorship policies and people���s opinion regulations, and that was inevitable. It���s similar to driving a car - you have rules in order to drive this car. At a red light you stop, you have the direction of movement, you do not drive against the traffic and all these rules. And you will not have rules on the social network? There will be even more, because the media is a great force and here comes the big mistake - all these 3.5 billion Facebook users, everyone has media in their hands and everyone thinks he is the editor-in-chief, thinking he can do whatever he wants.

Host: But there are organized groups that can force society to go in one direction or another, to elect presidents, to elect governments, to overthrow governments.

Maxim Behar: Yes, as with the car, it can become a problem, you can burst a tire, God forbid you hit someone, the engine can break, you run out of gas. In the same way, all these risks are present on social media. They need to be regulated, in my opinion, and they need to be very intelligently and carefully regulated. There should not be at least the basic things that infuriate us, such as prostitution, hatred, racial discrimination, pedophilia and all these things actually fall into the penal code anyway. You do something - you go to court. We returned back to the topic of the judiciary system and judicial reform - there must be young, intelligent judges, prosecutors, their friends and advisers who also need understand modern life. And on the other side are the social media themselves, which must somehow impose restrictions on all these things that we are talking about, including when someone stumbles a lot on politics. When he starts using it very actively, in Bulgaria this is not observed, in Bulgaria politicians appear so sluggishly, with some boring, ridiculous even meetings with people and take pictures of them with a mobile phone. And here I am not referring to the Bulgarian former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov with his Sevda TV or whatever it was, but I am referring to all politicians.

Host: Slavi Trifonov, TV anchor and leader of one of the new political parties which joined the Parliamentary elections, communicates with people only through Facebook.

Maxim Behar: Yes, it's super counterproductive.�� And I'm surprised he doesn't understand it, because firstly he has a television, secondly, you can't communicate in one direction only. That's what Trump did, by the way, that's why he loved Twitter so much. Boyko Borisov does it too, Slavi Trifonov does it as well. Only through social media, one way communication. In order to avoid nasty question, such as 'What were you doing two years ago'.

Host: Either way, people destroy them in the comments below. I guess they read those comments.

Maxim Behar: Yes, and I think it is contraindicated for a politician, and for businessman as well, to communicate only through social media. One could take part in a discussion, could present their arguments, because the voters can see who is right, and who is wrong, when they see the arguments of the different sides.

Host: Do you think we will see any leadership debate on television?

Maxim Behar: I don't know if you remember November 1994, I led the first debates in the Bulgarian history on the only Bulgarian national television at the time, with 4 million viewers and it was super interesting. Many politicians were aired, such as Ivan Kostov, Ahmed Dogan, Jean Videnov, Rumen Gechev, who by the way, is still active in politics, and many other people. It was super interesting, because for the first time in Bulgaria, people saw their leaders in a debate, in a dispute, presenting arguments. I think that if there is no debate, especially for this year's presidential election, the turnout rate will drop drastically, because how do you decide who to vote for if you don't see how he behaves in a debate, not one-way, not such meetings with voters, with some flowers, with some bouquets, with some microphones, with some posters and slogans in the back. You have to see the person in action, this is the competition in politics. As I have competition in my business, as a waffle maker or furniture manufacturer or whatever, there is competition and one complies with it. So, we have to see the politicians directly in an open debate and then all the people in Bulgaria will be able to draw their own conclusions and decide who to vote for. This is key for the elections on November 14, 2021.

Host: Finally, I want to ask you to comment on another topic and that is Covid vaccines. Why did the vaccination campaign in Bulgaria collapse with such terrible force? I know, I realize very clearly that we in the media allowed the voices of people who were absolutely counterproductive. Experts or pseudo-experts, I do not know how to call them, on the one hand, on the other hand, Facebook played also a huge role. I read some research on Danish witches and a parallel to how people once believed in witches and now don't believe in vaccines or believe in conspiracy theories. What do you think about the topic?

Maxim Behar: This is not a problem. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter - every single social media is here to stay in the end. When you invite someone who has one opinion, invite another who has other opinion to create good conditions for a debate. The main thing is that the last few governments in Bulgaria did not understand what it was all about. And all this is a total failure, I cannot describe how many people call me all day long from around the world and they tell me - 'We look at the statistics on the percentage vaccinated and the other statistics on the number of the dead. Why Max, how is this possible in European Bulgaria���. Nobody did anything, the Ministry of Health made a lottery with 100 smart watches, and they were some $2-3 from AliExpress. And you will motivate people without any opinions, without any campaign, without any explanation. When we play the BBC, we see Paul McCartney or Elton John talking about vaccines, giving appeals and saying why it's important. There are many opinions. Yesterday I talked for a long time with a friend - Dr. Simidchiev, who is a good pulmonologist and a very good expert in this field and he believes that the train has not been missed yet. I have the feeling, for myself, that the train is missed and we can't get on it. But the truth is that this case was not viewed medically, not through the eyes of science, through the eyes of professional communication experts, but only through the eyes of politicians, thinking ���Let us keep it this way, because that will cause us many enemies.��� This is a disastrous politic, this is a disastrous strategy and, unfortunately, it has a very bad effect on the people in Bulgaria.

Host: And because of the election campaign and the elections, some decisions that should have been made a long time ago were delayed.

Maxim Behar: There was a whole year.

Host: No one dared to do anything because elections are coming. Let's not make people angry before the election. A full lockdown will now be needed during the elections.

Maxim Behar: Let's listen to the experts, let's listen to the people of science, let's listen to the doctors who are experts and specialists, let's listen to the foreign experts, because we see what's happening. I was in Germany last week and there you can't enter a restaurant without a green certificate at all, you can't enter a store, nowhere. You show your certificate and no one protests.

Host: This had to be done since the summer.

Maxim Behar: It had to be done with good preparation.

Host: See how the interest in vaccination has increased now that green certificates have been introduced.
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Maxim Behar: This is the bad way of coercion, but it has to happen. No matter how people think it, no matter what they think. There is no pandemic in all of human history, worldwide, that has been solved without vaccines. There is no such pandemic. And there is no pandemic that has had vaccines ready, you see, we already have vaccines, and we are just waiting for a pandemic to come and when it does, we release the vaccine because we've been through all the tests and everything else. Throughout history, when something similar happened with a virus and even more so with this Spanish flu 1920, of course, again defeated by a vaccine. Now science is so far ahead, so far ahead, evolving at cosmic speed. We need to believe in science, be calm, and if we are worried about something just ask doctors, ask people who understand. Not to read on social media all sorts of conspiracy theories, some of which are absurd and make us laugh. But I continue to claim that the responsibility lies with the Bulgarian Government, whichever it may be. Because in every country the Government has to take its responsibility, I repeat, whichever it is. Since last March, we have changed three governments, now there will be a fourth. One regular and two caretaking ones and now a fourth will come.

Host: I hope they succeed.

Maxim Behar: I really want to address all your viewers, because I know that this is a very authoritative show with many viewers - listen to the people of science. Don't listen to conspiracy theories. Make your own decisions, but listen to people who understand the subject.

Host: This is a good place to finish the interview. Thank you very much, we can talk for hours, but the time is running out. Take care and be healthy.

Maxim Behar: Thanks, you too!

Watch the whole video here.

Priceless Lessons by Maxim Behar: A Story with Pope John Paul II

The leading PR expert and CEO of the communication agency M3 Communications Group, Inc., Mr. Maxim Behar shares his exciting acquaintances, interesting experiences and the lessons he learns in his author���s series Priceless Lessons, which he publishes for BGLOBAL magazine.


The smile of Pope John Paul II
The Holy Father became the first sovereign of the Vatican City to visit Bulgaria and had the first special website in the whole history for his visit.

I have no idea why so many of my occasional meetings and amazing ideas have been happening on Sundays, as is the case with this story too. Surprisingly, we went for a cup of coffee that afternoon with the press director of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria at the time, later a longtime director of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), who passed away recently, and I saw in his eyes a special glow while sitting on the low chairs in the cafe of the Archaeological Museum in Sofia...

- To know, in great secrecy I'm sharing only to you, Solomon Passy called me just now and told me that Pope John Paul confirmed he was coming to Bulgaria��� There is less than a month until his arrival... It is very important and quite urgent to come up with something genius...

While listening to him and waiting for my coffee, I had already opened my mobile phone and was registering a site for the Pope's visit to Bulgaria��� My idea was very clear - it was a unique opportunity to promote Bulgaria around the world in the best possible way. There are nearly 1.4 billion people in the world who have identified themselves as Catholics and even if half of them were interested in this unique visit, this would be a remarkable chance for Bulgaria.

A week earlier, with Solomon Passy ��� the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time and the main driver of the invitation to the Pope, we were clarifying the last details of the reception. We even knew exactly the moment when the Pope would stop to bless the legendary East German car of Passy - the Trabant, which became a symbol of the irreversible Euro- Atlantic future of another country in Eastern Europe ��� Bulgaria. It was impossible to give him a ride in it, he was already quite thin and moving with a walker, and it occurred to me to make a special television studio to constantly broadcast the stay of His Holiness. The prestigious Hilton hotel, at the time run by another great and irreplaceable friend, Armin Zerunyan, hospitably provided us with wonderful facilities, while colleagues from my company M3 Communications Group, Inc. armed with cameras, microphones, mobile devices set off with the Pope's motorcade around the country.

We were all so happy. Our servers could barely withstand the millions of visitors. Solomon Passy and Armin Zerunyan attended the opening of the studio, watched by at least 40 countries from all continents. Our operators were broadcasting every minute what was happening��� and one day as I was editing my consecutive texts, my cell phone rang, and a kind voice told me that Pope John Paul II would be happy if I could take some time to talk to him the next day at two o'clock in the afternoon. It sounded so absurd and strange that at first, I thought it was a joke provoked by the big media noise around the studio. In fact, I was partly right - when I briefly asked what the reason is, the voice opposite said softly:
- His Holiness is extremely flattered by your personal attention to his visit. His team found out just last night that with 32 visits so far in the 24 years since he has been the Pope and nearly 650 audiences and visits by heads of state, someone has made a special website for his visit. Usually, either the relevant Ministries of Foreign Affairs or the Vatican Embassies do it on their local websites. The Pope would very much like to meet with you and award you with his special gold medal from his historic visit to Bulgaria.

So... the next day I went on August 11th Street in Sofia at the Vatican Embassy. It was really early in the afternoon and after waiting about an hour for His Holiness to rest, I went in, kissed his hand and it was my turn to surprise him - I started the conversation in Polish language and so it went for the rest of the visit. The Pope was very pleasantly surprised, he told how impressed he was by his reception in Orthodox Bulgaria, he had not yet visited the predominantly Catholic city of Rakovski ��� it was for the next day. He also told me how delighted he was regarding his meetings with King Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who was Bulgarian Prime Minister at the time as well, and while his spokesperson, the famous Joaquin Navarro, insistently handed him the medal to give it to me, he asked quietly, but very quietly:
- We thank you very much for thinking of making a special site for my visit, no one has done it before. What made you to make this huge effort, please tell me.

I started a little worried:
- Your Holiness, your visit to Bulgaria is a unique chance for people around the world to understand what you have seen here - this is a wonderful country full of young, intelligent and ambitious people, with amazing nature, climate and environment. In addition - of course, more than a billion Catholics around the world - want to know every minute how you feel and what messages you send to them��� Not to mention that there is no better media so far than the one on the Internet and it is in real time...

The Pope smiled thoughtfully, was silent for a few minutes, lifted himself towards Navarro, handed me the medal in a red box, and said to me:
- I pass it on to you completely deservedly and thank you for these words. More people around the world should hear them. I know that the future is there and we must all follow how these communications will develop.

I left happy. I will remember forever this kind and thoughtful smile... I guessed, but I still did not know. Less than a year and a half later, boys from Harvard University invented the product that Pope John Paul II was so curious to know.

They called it Facebook.

Maxim Behar for 24 Daily Newspaper: The Failure of the Bulgarian Health Campaign

The PR expert Maxim Behar shared with the Bulgarian 24 Daily Newspaper his opinion on the management of politicians in Bulgaria, about the mistakes they make and how they negatively affect the country's brand image, health system and public safety.

Bulgaria is facing absolute failure in politics, branding, health care, society. All political TV shows broadcasting pre-election messages and expressionless cowardly faces of people who look at us and blink innocently, convincing us for not being responsible for the chaos in Bulgaria. Even today it is no longer a question about vaccines, pro or against, it is clear that it is a question of the survival of Bulgaria, and I do not believe that the majority do not understand it. In these elections, politicians had to pass only one test - their concern to the health of Bulgarians. One and all failed.

I have been traveling the world for years and telling people at hundreds of global forums how Bulgaria is full of well-educated, ambitious and capable young people, how it will become the economic tiger of Europe and that who invest faster here, will be the happiest businessman in the world... These days these same people, from all over the world, most of whom believed me, they ring literally around the clock, write emails or text me on social media. All of them ask only one question and for the first time I cannot give them an answer: "Max, we are looking at the statistics... What are you doing there ... in Bulgaria, how did you get so far... Don't you have a voice in your country, what are you doing, are you silent...��� In this sense, with an average of 80 percent vaccinated in Europe and 20 percent in Bulgaria, the image of our country is completely ruined ��� in terms of investment, tourism, in every way... for decades to come. This is a spectacular failure, not to say a worse word.

We have about ten days until the elections. Right now, all politicians had only one test to pass - their concern to the health of Bulgarians, to the health of Bulgaria. None of them stated a clear and precise position, none of them even mentioned the indisputable fact that there is no pandemic in the world history that has been fought without vaccines, and that there is no way to have a vaccine ready for every pandemic ...

This is what is happening in Bulgaria - the silence and ornate phrases of politicians is really complete nonsense, against which one must protest, not against the green certificates.

It is an indisputable fact that the failure of the health campaign in Bulgaria is for two simple reasons. The first is the total devaluation of trust in the country's institutions, started fifteen years ago. The attitude towards politicians at all levels is so negligible that it is somehow intuitive when you see a minister on the screen telling you something, at a first signal you know you shouldn't do it. And the other very important reason is the complete lack of communication, of messages, of strategy, of charisma, of persuasion on the part of those to whom we have entrusted the Government of the state. The Bulgarian President Rumen Radev was the one who had to lead the whole movement for vaccination in Bulgaria, to provoke a debate and tell the whole truth to the Bulgarians, so that they can make their decision calmly and informed. Instead, we see fragmentary remarks by impostors in television studios and by people with unclear mental health and zero knowledge on social media.

I expected to see President Radev and the people around him in the summer on the square in front of the presidency in Sofia with a raised fist to say: "The pandemic out". I was expecting, and I was not the only one who wanted to hear strong argument, to see how he invites renowned Bulgarians from around the world at a roundtable, to get vaccinated publicly, to show all his possible certificates and tell his point of view, whatever it is. Instead, both he and the people around him decided to bet on the votes of the people. They decided to bet on fear, to use fear and so to win. I have no idea, if President Radev, who rules now and is responsible, wins the presidential elections again, how he would look people in the eye.
Even the 17-year-old Victor Velchev, student from a school in Sofia, came out on the front page of the Bulgarian newspaper 24 Daily and shouted louder than all the politicians together: "The pandemic out!". A voice that is now worth to be heard all over Bulgaria. Victor's arguments are really strong, backed up by facts and are stronger than the voice of the most politician who dare to speak about it.

Of course, all this chaos for many reasons was set in the last years when the former Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov was in power, but this is a completely different topic and does not for a moment give grounds for excuses. Person, who claims to be a Bulgarian Minister named Stoycho Katsarov (Minister of Health), appears on TV shows, muttering vague excuses and throwing a huge stain on the entire medical community and launching a lottery for a hundred cheap watches among those possibly vaccinated. He simply does what he is only capable of.

But those who hired him also grumble and pretend not to see. While people were dying and hospitals were overcrowded, not a single strong argument came out of his Ministry, not a single meaningful message on the topic of vaccines, not a single bright and powerful campaign. If Stoycho Katsarov knew what YouTube was and had spent several hours seeing what his colleagues in the European Union were doing, probably at least someone around him would get a red light and do something.

310 people died on the first day of the week. What stronger argument than this could the Government get to take urgent emergency measures immediately.

Even to announce national mourning, to make our compatriots think, to be startled! In 2003, five brave Bulgarian soldiers died in Karbala and this was a cause for national mourning. In 2009, 19 Bulgarian tourists died fatuously in Lake Ohrid and then we again had a national mourning. On Monday only - let me repeat - there were 310! We started passing the hundreds of dead people without even being impressed? Unbelievable! This mental crisis is considered one of the great tragedies of today's Bulgaria.

The current Bulgarian Prime Minister Yanev and his ministers are behaving as if nothing has happened. I have no memory of seeing them in hospitals, to urgently gather the still surviving non-dismissed hospital directors, to have summoned foreign experts for help, to have stated a clear and precise position. What's more - they introduced the green certificate policy for entering indoor public places literally for a day, throwing the country into total chaos - no one was prepared and many questions arose ��� how to check them, what application to use, how to distinguish the real from the fake certificate.

Of course, it had to happen, but we had half a year to prepare an awareness campaign. Only a week ago, a disbanded young man without any identification marks at midnight at Sofia Airport would have beaten me, when I asked him to check my certificate, which I showed him upon entering Bulgaria. He took a dingy old phone out of his pocket and said: "Hey, now as the app lights up red, I'll take you back to where you came from," whatever that meant.

But this case is a drop in the ocean compared to the vote in the last Bulgarian regular Parliament, which rejected the proposal of the exceptional professional, pulmonologist Dr. Alexander Simidchiev to provide BGN 10 million for a communication campaign on the virus disease and vaccines. Why? The arguments were that someone would spend them on his election campaign ...

People in Bulgaria are really worried. Never in Bulgarian history has been committed such a ritual suicide with the active participation of the political class. And the case with the rejected funds for an awareness campaign is only a detail of the whole process.

Bulgaria ranks last in Europe in terms of vaccination and first in the world in terms of deaths.

Of course, how not to worry. But that's why there are institutions in a country - to take measures, to govern, to tell the truth and to persuade. Every day, every hour, every minute. And when they have to - to ban.

I propose immediately that Mr. Stefan Yanev, while still Prime Minister, bring together the best Bulgarian specialists, virologists, immunologists and pulmonologists in Bulgaria, but also those who are abroad, at a long meeting, broadcasted live so that everyone has equal access to information. He has to invite the Bulgarian Association of PR Agencies, as well as other communication specialists and to hear their opinion for a very urgent and effective campaign. To address the ambassadors of the great and important countries in Bulgaria to immediately share the experience of their governments.
Maybe for everything now it's too late.

When in the 1990s many people appealed Bulgaria to join Europe quickly (meaning the European Union), at dozens of international conferences I fiercely defended the thesis that Bulgaria does not enter Europe, but returns there because it has always been a European country.

Is that so now?

The answer depends on all of us. Get informed by the science, listen to science and get vaccinated as soon as possible. And remember what my friend Ivaylo Tsvetkov - Noisy said exactly for 24 Daily: Refusing vaccines is like claiming that you are free to drive drunk. And now, unfortunately, we see just that - the drunkenness of an entire nation, led by people who think only of themselves.

Priceless Lessons by Maxim Behar: A Story with Prince Kardam of Bulgaria

The leading PR expert and CEO of the communication agency M3 Communications Group, Inc., Mr. Maxim Behar shares his exciting acquaintances, interesting experiences and long friendships in his author���s series Priceless Lessons, which he publishes for BGLOBAL magazine.

In memory of Prince Kardam Saxe-Koubourg of Bulgaria, Prince of Tarnovo, Duke in Saxony, son of King Simeon II of Bulgaria and his wife Do��a Margarita


The Prince with Bulgaria in the heart...
Kardam Saxe-Coburg loved his father's country and eagerly absorbed everything that was happening here.

The loose snow was creaking under our shoes, the wind was often strong, but it was never cold and cutting. Although it is a miracle to see snow in Madrid, the King and I talked sweetly for a long time paying no attention to anything else��� This was my second or third meeting with the King, I was telling him what was happening in his country at great length. He was listening carefully, and I just could not help but wonder how it is possible to walk so calmly with such a famous man in the centre of Madrid and no one, absolutely no one to pay attention to him...

We reached the Meridien Hotel, where people were waiting us for lunch. And since there were a number of people coming and going in front of the main entrance, I didn't even pay attention to a young man who somehow naturally joined us, and somewhere in the huge lobby, the King turned to me and almost whispered: "Behar, this is my son, the eldest son, Kardam". Smiling, friendly, Kardam extended his hand to me and started directly in Spanish, and when he realized that it was not my language, he immediately switched to English...

Kardam was in a very high position at Telefonica, Spain's telecommunications giant, and since we happened to be next to each other at the lunch, we had enough time to talk. He had never come to Bulgaria and was absorbing every word that came out from my mouth...
- Listen to me, Maxim��� Only Bulgaria's membership in the European Union can open your borders for new business, for investments, for people who will provide a good job to many Bulgarians, but most importantly - will teach them work habits and innovative approaches so that a whole generation will now think in a completely different way.
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Our meeting was exactly ten years before Bulgaria officially joined the European Union and despite my great desire for my country to change in a flash, these messages of Kardam seemed vague and distant...

In less than a few months, one early morning, very early, around 6.30 in the morning, I was on my way to make coffee, when suddenly my mobile phone rang and I saw the easily recognizable number of the King... "Behar ��� he told me a little worried ��� I hope I don't wake you up this early, but I saw that you two with Kardam got along very well at the lunch in Madrid, and as he arrives tomorrow with his wife Miriam and will participate in a business forum at the Rozhen Fair in Bulgaria so I wonder if...". I didn't even let him finish because I knew I would be with Kardam in Rozhen the next day, but - of course - I didn't know that behind the wheel of the car that brought him there will be the King's most trusted man at the time ��� Boyko Borisov, now former Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

Wherever Kardam set foot - he wanted me to call him by his name, not ���prince���, the same thing the King had asked me before- he kept talking about how Bulgaria should be open to investment, how people should travel, work abroad, learn and then come back here to apply what they have learned. My biggest surprise was that he didn't know a word of Bulgarian. I was strongly impressed, angry and uncompromising. On the very first night at the hotel in Pamporovo, Bulgaria, before the start of the forum, I made him a long list of the most important words and expressions he should know in Bulgarian, and I left it on the table in the small bar with the words: "Kardam, this is your homework for the night. I will test you tomorrow at breakfast, I hope you will perform well". We travelled around the country together, and for ten days he really made an incredible effort, because at the end of the tour he pronounced the expressions from the list quite reasonably and understandably.

We talked to each other often, until one day I ended up on a flight to Madrid in an economy class seat next to his mother, Queen Margarita. We started to talk, and she offered to call him for the few hours while I will be in the city before going to Barcelona. Kardam jumped in amazement and immediately offered to meet me at the legendary Gijon Caf��, right next to his office, where verses and poems had been written by a whole constellation of Spanish and world intellectuals. He arrived at the meeting with a whole group of young Spanish businessmen in the field of technology, to whom he had been telling legends about Bulgaria and each of them was interested how he could do business in our country, in details��� I was convinced I was missing the plane to Barcelona as this meeting was so absorbing and detailed. My cousin Yosif Davidov, also a legendary Bulgarian journalist who has lived in Madrid for more than 30 years, saved me, as he went to my hotel, packed my luggage in the last minute and "delivered" me to the airport at lightning speed. Then I was convinced that Kardam carried Bulgaria in his heart every minute, even every second.

A few years later, a ridiculous car accident left him in a coma for 7 years and months before he left this world forever, I spent a whole day in their summer house near Madrid to tell him more about Bulgaria. He was looking straight in my eyes, and I was sure he understood me, but he couldn't show it. I was telling him only one thing - how his beloved country Bulgaria is changing, and that the country will remember him for a very long time.


Photo: Maxim Behar with Prince Kardam and Princess Miriam in the centre of Smolyan city during their first visit to Bulgaria in the summer of 1998

Maxim Behar was Elected as Advisory Board Member of ENGAGE.EU European University

Maxim Behar was elected as a member of the first Advisory Board of ENGAGE.EU European University, one of the most influential university alliances in Europe, established by the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in Sofia, together with six other leading Western European universities.

In his newly elected position and as a current member of the UNWE Board of Trustees, Maxim Behar will contribute to further develop ENGAGE.EU, support it in its societal engagement, and provide access to information and knowledge to Bulgarian and European communities.

This year was held the first annual conference of the ENGAGE.EU European University, hosted by one of its partners the University of Mannheim, aimed to mark one year since the start of the joint project and to launch a new project initiative (ENGAGE.EU Research & Innovation, funded by Horizon 2020). The forum brought together more than 150 participants - the rectors of the partner universities, the members of the Advisory Board, the leaders of the work packages and project tasks, as well as students. Among them were Maxim Behar,��UNWE Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, UNWE Vice-Rector and��ENGAGE.EU Coordinator for UNWE Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mihail Musov and��ENGAGE.EU Advisory Board Member Mr. Yovko Atanasov.

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Maxim Behar Meets the Ambassador of Slovakia to Bulgaria

Maxim Behar, PR expert and CEO of M3 Communications Group, Inc., had a productive meeting with H.E. Mr. Manuel Korcek, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Bulgaria. They discussed opportunities to expand and deepen the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in areas of business and culture.

During the meeting were exchanged ideas for joint projects, experience and knowledge in further promoting business contacts between companies and organizations from both Bulgaria and Slovakia. For his part, Mr. Behar highlighted his intentions to implement joint cultural initiatives between the two countries, despite the current impact of the pandemic on the organization of live events.

Priceless Lessons by Maxim Behar: A Story with Former President of Poland Lech Walesa

The leading PR expert and CEO of the communication agency M3 Communications Group, Inc., Mr. Maxim Behar shared another astonishing personal story in his author���s series Priceless Lessons, which he publishes for BGLOBAL magazine.

The "generals" had to come, and they really arrived...

���With or without me, the change would have come, but no one could say when���, in the words of Lech Walesa, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and the President who wrote the last page of the short history of communism.

In the late summer of 1980, an ordinary and unknown electrician with a moustache jumped over the fence of the Gdansk Shipyard, he calmed the angry protests and in just a few days created something unseen in the region - independent and free trade unions. Fifteen years later, I was standing in the lobby of the European Hotel in Warsaw, Poland, praying that the torrential almost tropical rain, quite untypical for Warsaw, would stop so that I could cross the street and shake hands with him without getting my new suit wet. The suit that was bought from a Turkish store on Vitoshka Street in Sofia solely for this purpose.

Over the years I had met Lech Walesa dozens of times, I knew well the dialect he spoke, and the phrases he "fired" which were becoming iconic on the very next day and all international agencies quoted him in their headlines... Nie chcem, ale musze, (I don't want to, but I must) was one of these famous quotes, as it really expressed the essence of the peaceful Polish transition from communism to a market economy. The transition that has filled the shops and employed millions in just a few days after decades of deep crisis.

However, the rain did not stop and so I entered very solemnly the newly opened presidential palace in the centre of Warsaw together with the doorman of the hotel, who opened a huge branded umbrella over me with the meaningful and symbolic inscription "European".

Lech Walesa is in a mood, he enters the hall, where I expect him quite energetically, shakes hands with a wide smile on his face and, as per command, takes the place which was prepared for the talk. Returning from the airport as he has just sent off the President of the United States Bill Clinton, after being with him in Warsaw for a few days, and he is obviously very proud of this achievement, as a US President comes to see what is happening in Eastern Europe for the first time. He sips from his glass of water and looks at me inquisitively in order to understand how I speak Polish this well, because I was speaking very familiarly to him, and when I ask him what he said to Clinton right on the steps of the plane, he utters a phrase that, just for a few seconds, travels around the world.

- Well, I told the President Clinton that the generals have to come to Poland. Only they will fix the country as well as guarantee us a successful way forward.

The hall is so quiet that even a mosquito will split the air. Walesa's team is numb, the pens of several journalists from international agencies, who with my consent occupied the chairs by the wall, because one-hour time slot was fixed only for me, freeze in the air... Only those who know the recent history of this remarkable country can understand the absurdity of this answer. In the late 1980s, in order to bring order, and perhaps to prevent Soviet troops from entering the country, the President of Poland at that time, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, declared martial law, and for the next decade it was known as the Rule of The Generals.

That is why this answer given by the country's first democratically elected President was in itself absurd��� However, I continue to insist���
- Can you repeat? Did you really say ���the generals..."?

Walesa smiles in a way that we in Bulgaria call "under a moustache", but it really suited him as his moustache is emblematic, and replies:
- You heard absolutely right. The generals will fix Poland and no one else could.

Just when I spread my arms almost helplessly, he adds:
- Here are some examples... General Electric, General Motors, General Dynamics... These generals are now waiting to invest in Poland, to teach us how to do business, to create a product that we can successfully develop.

The hall in the presidential palace is now resting, and with my peripheral vision I see how the correspondents from around the world are going down to broadcast the next hit phrase of Walesa, and when we are just the two of us, he tells me:
- For your information, with President Clinton we talked about Bulgaria... We are not going anywhere without you, neither to NATO, nor to the European Union. We are together everywhere, we can be amateurs in politics, me and your President Zhelev, but we certainly know how to lead our people to a better world��� With me or without me, with Zhelev or without him, all this would have happened one day. Even we didn't know when.

And so, it happened. With many hopes, disappointments and naive expectations, with the huge benefits that freedom of speech and the free market have brought��� And with the truly priceless lessons that the ���generals" have given us.

Maxim Behar for BG ONAIR: The 2021 Presidential Elections in Bulgaria

The PR expert Maxim Behar commented on the Bulgarian presidential election and the new candidates in the morning news show on BG ONAIR TV. Behar also shared what messages the future President should send to the citizens and whether direct debates are the only way to determine a valuable President or "Unifier of The Nation".

Host: Hello! What messages should the future President send to the citizens and who between the current President Rumen Radev, Professor Atanas Gerdjikov and Lozan Panov embodies more the figure of the Unifier of The Nation? We will now discuss this topic in the studio together with the PR expert Maxim Behar and Daniel Kiryakov from the Center for Analysis and Crisis Communications. Good morning to you two!

Maxim Behar: Good morning!

Host: Let's start with this question for the Initiative Committees: Is this the new way and has it become more fashionable to nominate presidential candidates through an initiative committee showing, in some way, independence of the candidates from the pollical parties.

Maxim Behar: This is the good news from this election, or we can say from this election campaign, which is just beginning, meaning that political parties are left in the background, and everyone is worried that, or each of the leaders is worried about declaring their political support, because to a large extent almost all have participated in the Government rule and have somehow compromised themselves. I have been telling for a long time how the system, which for some reason we still call democracy, no longer works and the political parties will remain more and more in the background. In my opinion, this is the reason why these initiative committees are being organized. On the other hand, it seems to me that we give a little more weight to the presidential elections, which are not very important in Bulgaria. The institution itself is structured in this way.

Host: Do you really think that people in these remaining days would change their decision, would make an impression on the candidates in question so that for these remaining days they would change their decision as a voter?

Maxim Behar: You know, no matter how insignificant the presidential institution has been, in the last week, it seems that this election race has started to become interesting. As in the last 25-27 years, we all said there was no one to vote for. All politicians, one on the left - the other on the right. Aleko Konstantinov, a Bulgarian writer, said once that not everyone provokes ridicule. In general, in Bulgarian literature there are many images of unsuccessful, incompetent and corrupt, greedy politicians. But now in this presidential elections, we see interesting people. We see a professor-rector of a university, we see a judge with a big authority who is an intelligent man, with an interesting candidate for Vice President. I hope that this choice will also lead to a smarter campaign, not just some messages and posts on their Facebook profiles - such long sentences that no one understands anything. I guess these intelligent people can send a little more meaningful messages to their constituents, to emphasize that neither something new will start nor something old will end if someone other is elected as a President. However, parliamentary elections are much more important, the Parliament is much more important, the Government is much more important. I hope for a good intelligent tone and communication, so that this whole absurd fight between former Prime-Minister Boyko Borissov and the President Rumen Radev in the last few years will be depersonalized and forgotten, because there is nothing to lie about, what we have seen in Bulgaria in the recent 3-5 years has nothing to do with politics. Or at least it has nothing to do with European politics. Two people fighting and exchanging words from a distance, and from their Facebook profiles, SUVs, cars or whatever. For this, I hope that the emergence of new people will introduce a new vocabulary and new arguments, a new way of behaving and more smiles when we speak about politics.

Host: On the other hand, how important is the figure of the Vice President? We see interesting personalities, as we learned from Professor Gerdjikov, this will be Colonel Nevyana Miteva. Do we see any messages there?

Maxim Behar: To a large extent, the candidates for President of Bulgaria copy what happened in Washington in the last few months. The Vice President has almost no power under the constitution except, of course, God forbids if something happens to the President, then the person takes on some functions. However, what has been said for months is that there must be a unifying person, a person who does not divide the nation, irritate people, create wrong expectations or moods. It seems to me that the Bulgarian people will be able to recognise who can be the President - Unifier by seeing the three main opponents. Leave the other candidates, the people need to see the three main ones in a political debate, in a studio for 2-5 hours, as long as it takes. Of course, with interesting anchors to ask even more interesting questions.

Host: Will it be clear then?

Maxim Behar: Then we will be able to see these people, who advocates for what, because in the last few years what we see is mainly sharing messages on social media. You all know, I'm a fan of social media communications, but it's one-way street in terms of communicating. Someone posts something, disables people from commenting under the post, and thinks that he has achieved a great thing by writing five or six sentences, that he has sent a great message. But that is not the case. Only in a direct debate, in the direct exchange of opinions and arguments, someone can judge who will be a valuable President of Bulgaria for the next 5 years.

Host: An American approach again, a debate?

Maxim Behar: Not only American, but it is also the same all over Europe. Poland and the Czech Republic can be other examples, although the Presidents there are elected differently. In Poland, it is not always direct presidential election, and the Czech Republic for the first time elected directly a President (in their last election). Not to mention presidential countries such as France and the United States. Do you know that we can be like in Bantustan ��� a country somewhere in distant Africa, again the people there who vote have to see the candidates for President in person and be convinced of their qualities and personality which can be achieved only in a direct discussion with opponents.

Host: We mention the three main candidates for the presidential election��� Were you really surprised by Mariya Kasimova���s candidacy for Vice President, who is a runner-up to the independent presidential candidate Lozan Panov?

Maxim Behar: Probably not. Maria is a very interesting and intelligent girl. Lozan Panov is an intellectual, a lawyer who has been gravitating to the right side of Bulgarian politics for a long time. And the right pollical space do not hide their sympathy for him ��� it was logical. Rather, I was personally surprised by the candidacy of Professor Gerdjikov, whom I have known very well for years, because a scientist or a prominent intellectual must have a very strong argument to enter the Presidential race, into this policy, which we all know will suffer very great negatives, even if he is elected.

Host: Don't we need such an independent candidate, an independent figure as Professor Gerdjikov, to embody this unifying figure of the President?

Maxim Behar: I am not convinced that it should be. I would not like to characterize the candidates in their education or in their current activity - say a university lecturer. The candidate should be judged on his personal qualities, of course, I have great sympathy, to say for all three candidates, or at least at this stage, but I really think there should be a direct clash of ideas. Not that the future President will have the power to implement these ideas, but we need to know their opinion on important for the public topics, what they want to do, how they see the life in Bulgaria, how their views on whether we live well or badly, whether there will be an inflation, whether prices are rising, what is happening with fuels. Again, Bulgaria is not a presidential republic, and we need to know these people and what is their opinion and point of view for our beloved country Bulgaria, in order to be able to evaluate them as efficient as possible.

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Watch the whole interview here.

Maxim Behar for Bulgarian National Television: Lessons Learned from Facebook outage

Maxim Behar commented on the large-scale global collapse of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp which lasted more than 6 hours, how dependent we are on social media, can we count on them, who are the affected and more on the topic in the show The World and We on Bulgarian National Television with the anchor Joanna Levieva-Sawyer.


Host: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had to apologize to all Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users. Social networks were unavailable for more than 6 hours. There has been no such large-scale collapse so far. The company explained it with a technical problem. The accident affected consumers around the world. We commented on the topic with Maxim Behar - a PR specialist with extensive international contacts.����

Mr. Behar, first of all, tell us briefly how did you feel about this outage as a person who is extremely active on social media, both professionally and personally?

Maxim Behar: Good afternoon! Nothing that serious has happened. One can burst a tire while driving, the electricity can shut down. Look what is happening in the UK at the moment - there is a massive petrol shortage. Of course, it wasn���t comfortable to have such social media shut down but it's part of our lives, and we need to understand that all of these online platforms and the Internet are vulnerable, and everything considered in category ���technology���. Such things happen and we have to be ready. Of course, Mark Zuckerberg himself probably wasn't prepared for such Facebook's slumping stock price, but these things happen and we have to be completely ready because it's part of modern life.

Host: You compare Facebook with electricity and water. It appears we are more dependent on social networks than we ever expected. Can you explain why this is happening and whether they should still be more regulations?

Maxim Behar: First, Facebook is a free service unlike electricity and water, and that's the big difference. As far as I follow the messages and what the company reports very briefly, it could be a result of an issue with Facebook's servers, it may have been a cyber-attack. I believe we are about to find out the reason soon - this is a public company and there will hardly be any hidden information. But again, we have to be prepared and live with the fact that any technology could fail and I don't find that scary at all.

Maybe just two types of people could be disturbed by that. One is the Bulgarian politicians who, especially in the current election campaigns, send their messages mainly through Facebook. They even make TV shows there. They may be worried. And the others, of course, are the so-called influencers, who earn some money by promoting goods on their Instagram, Facebook and all other major social media accounts. But they will also understand that, in the end, nothing is eternal, and each technology must be approached with great doubt. When discussing Facebook, I think it is much more dangerous when there is racism, aggression, probably pedophilia and thousands other cases, than the Facebook outage for a few hours.

Host: That's right. This outage actually happened hours after shocking revelations on CBS TV by a former employee of the company. She said Facebook prioritizes its economic growth over users��� accounts security. The former employee is also expected to testify before the United States Senate committee. Will this lead to more serious regulation of the online environment, similar to the European Union?

Maxim Behar: The online environment was already regulated enough. What is left is more strict regulations on communication tone, the content of users��� messages and their profiles in general, which I do not believe will happen, because we have already seen this and we still see it in the so-called democracy or pseudo-democracy that they have. There can be no other regulation than the one determined by law. What happened yesterday, these six hours of outage, raises a big question for us how we should behave on social media, how we should use every word and sentence, how it is more than necessary to send positive messages to our followers, to discuss without anger, but only clear arguments.

Of course, the content that predominates on social media should be less political and more interesting and educational. In my opinion, the lesson learned is that nothing is eternal in this world and we are addicted to technology - something we all knew, especially when these services are free, such as social media.

Host: Maybe in the future that will change as well. Mr. Behar, thank you for your comment.

Maxim Behar: Thank you and good luck!

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The interview can be watched here.

Maxim Behar for 24 Daily Newspaper: Politicians Tend to Underestimate their PR Consultants��� Experience Globally

The communication expert Maxim Behar was among the five professionals invited by the Bulgarian newspaper 24 Daily to share their views and describe how a political product is created and preserved. In the newspaper digital article "PR: The Hidden Weakness and Strength Behind the (Un)successful" commented also Sevdelina Arnaudova, Elena Valcheva, Nidal Algafari, and Tsvetelina Uzunova.

Here is the opinion of Maxim Behar:

Like the rest of the world, both communications and political marketing are literally changing at the speed of light. There are two reasons. First, everyone already has at least one media in their hands and can manage it and send messages to voters or supporters. And the second is that the political systems themselves are now totally outdated and no one can formulate how they can be modernized or changed.

It is a global trend for politicians to think that they know more than their PR consultants and to try to impose their own opinion, but in Bulgaria this trend is even stronger. I continue to argue that politics needs honesty, transparency, fulfilling promises and charisma. And certainly, even in this already damaged political system, these qualities have a place and must be constantly leading in every campaign.

At this stage, the current presidential candidates Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev rely on the fact that they are still active and show up in the media, and that they are interesting. From what I observe from the side, I do not believe that there is a professional PR consulting them, as their messages are often scattered and, I would say, a little naive. Ultimately, however, the new project is an interesting phenomenon for our latitudes and I think it will be a success, and the trend will be focused on educated and intelligent people who have proven themselves outside politics to determine the future of countries. Just as it was in the past.

Otherwise, the new political PR has nothing to do with what it was only ten years ago. First, every politician or candidate-politician now has social media profiles and can freely send his messages, regardless of publishers or editors. However, this fact hides its risks and this manifested itself very strongly in both the Former Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov and the leader of the second-largest party in Bulgarian Parliament - Slavi Trifonov. Communication on social media is one-way, while voters prefer a direct debate of ideas and concepts, of people and emotions, in order to make their choice. And secondly, the voters themselves already have much more access to information than before. And third: fewer and fewer communication agencies want to engage in political marketing, because their creativity is often reduced to zero, and politicians themselves can rarely be defined as a good "product."

Read the full article here.