The party is floundering like many of the leftist parties in Europe. Devoid of real ideas, it doesn't know how to serve the needs of its voters under the strains of globalization and the requirements of the EU and IMF.

When it has an idea, it seems not well thought out. For example, it recently made some rather bizarre statements about our currency board which pegs the national currency, the lev, to the euro. The board was put into place after the 1997 bank & political crisis/hyperinflation. Maybe in theory there are problems with a currency board, but in this case, it has worked. It has stablized the economy and built confidence in the lev. So, the BSP has the bright idea to get rid of the currency board...now no one is quite sure WHY we should get rid of it...but we should get rid of it...within a few weeks the party seems to have changed its mind on the issue.

It is also plagued by the demographics of its electorate: most members and supporters are over 55. The only reason they do well in elections is that older voters vote in larger numbers, there are more older voters in BG (our population is declining), and they are committed voters.

Stanishev came as a young face to modernize the party and attract younger voters. So far I think that he means well and recognizes some of the challenges that the party faces. He has tried to push the envelope some, but the party needs change in the top. Many of the faces are the same faces we've seen since 1990...and they seem to reek of the unreformed, uninspired, lethargic nomenklatura of that period. This is really unfortunate since there are some younger members of the left that could be more creative and democratic.

I would really, really like to see a dynamic left force that offers realizable, innovative, and considered policy solutions that are carried out by open, transparent, and trustworthy officials. Unfortunately, in my view, we're not quite there yet.