ISSUE No. 7/1999

Councilors Are The Same Everywhere

by Tatiana Dimitrova, Public Relations Officer, FLGR

From 22 to 26 of June, 1999, a multi-party delegation of eight UK council members and officers from East Staffordshire Borough Council visited Kurdjali municipality. This was the start of the second stage of the Bulgarian Democracy Municipalities Project, implemented by the two municipalities since April 1998, supported by the Phare Democracy Programme and assisted by Foundation for Local Government Reform. The project aims to help the development of democratic practices in local self-government through active, direct exchange of best practice and know-how between UK and Bulgarian council members and officers. The UK delegation consisted of four Labour party councilors, one Conservative councilor, one Liberal-Democrat councilor, the Chief Financial Officer and the International Relations Officer of East Staffordshire Borough Council. Through a sequence of meetings and group discussions, during the visit the UK representatives were introduced to the practices and issues in the work of their Kurdjali colleagues, concerning multi-party cooperation, officer-member relations, links with the electorate, mechanisms for decision making and service delivery to citizens.

Following are the direct impressions of three participants about the visit:

Tom Dawn, third term Council member, Labour group;

Suzan Gent, second term Council member, Conservative group;

Wally Hudson-Walker, third term Council member, Liberal Democrat group.

Did you find more differences or more similarities between local governments operating in Kurdjali and in East Staffordshire?

T. D.: The structures that you have are very similar to ours - the fact that you are elected, you have committees, democratic voting, that sort of thing. What is different, I think, is the connection that you have with the electorate, the way that the candidates are selected and certainly the fact, that they are not identified with a particular area, which I should say is a very much a strength in our system.

S. G.: I learned that we have a lot of similar problems, but we deal with them in different ways. Here everything is in change, it must be difficult

W.H-W.: I think the similarities are very close, there is not a lot of difference. The main difference is the ward system. Normally each party has its own strong ward. I think in Kurdjali if the ward system did come out, you d probably find the minority parties would get a better chance of having more say in the local government.

How was the communication with your colleagues, the Kurdjali council members?

T.D.: It was easy, of course, thanks to the interpretation, but I think there was also willingness there to communicate. Our first meeting was rather formal across the table, exchanging views. Once we went into smaller discussion groups, that s when we became friends. Friends can actually exchange information much easier.

S. G.: It was easier than I though it would be. I don t know what I expected. I was apprehensive about coming from the fact the I didn t know anybody from my group. I have learned a lot about them as well.

W.H-W.: In the beginning we just sensed a case of slight resentment, I think that was mainly because of the interpretation of the word training , so the councilors from Kurdjali expected us to be training them and that is not the case. I think they saw us as inquisitors, trying to find out what they were doing wrong. That is not necessarily the case, we try to give them information of how we do things. Both sides have got good ideas, we are just pooling the ideas and picking the best.

What is your impression of the relations between the political groups in the Kurdjali council?

T.D.: I think councilors are the same everywhere. We very much get on with our opposition parties outside the council chamber. We have our differences inside the council chamber, but afterwards we go for a beer. When I was speaking with councilors here, they told me exactly the same, that after the meeting they would meet informally and talk things over.

S. G.: It must be very difficult for the minority groups that have one or two council members. When I first joined East Staffordshire Borough Council there were only 4 Conservatives and thirty something Labour, it was very difficult to get your views over. The majority always won, but now we ve got more councilors and we will make for better government.

W.H-W.: My first impression was that the two main parties in Kurdjali, the MFR and the socialist (BSP), do not particularly get on well together. They do seem to be two separate identities and as you ve seen with our party, although our political different sides, we do seem to get along very well together. This is because we can leave matters of council meetings outside the council meeting. We do separate the official activities from social activities, but in Kurdjali it seems as though they carry it in their social life as well.

What areas and useful elements of your experience would you share with the Kurdjali delegation during their visit to East Staffordshire next September?

T. D.: It s my belief that we can not force anything onto anybody. It is very much for people to see the way that we work, and say that is useful, that would not help at all . It is for the Kurdjali participants to decide for themselves. So, I will show them how I work as a councilor, which may not be perfect, but I will show them my area, I will show them how I relate to the electorate and how I carry out their wishes.

S. G.: I just hope that they ask the right questions and that we can give them the answers.

W.H-W.: On a political basis I find that Kurdjali councilors are elected because of educational value, in other words, each party has its own level of people that are called to be councilors. In Great Britain we have no restrictions. It doesn t matter who you are, you still can be a councillor without any educational qualification whatsoever, as long as you re supported by the population, and obviously, if the population is going to vote for you, they must be confident in your ability to look after them.

Your impressions of Bulgaria and Kurdjali?

T.D.: The most surprising thing when I came to Kurdjali was the number and greenness of the trees. I didn t know much about the area, I didn t know if it was flat or mountainous, so to actually get the view on the top of the town hall building of the hills around was quite spectacular. It s certainly a very beautiful country.

S. G.: It s a beautiful country, everybody is friendly. I would definitely like to come back again. I am sure that when I get back home and have enough time to think back I will realize how much I have learned. I ve been very pleased to take part in this visit, representing the council, the Conservative minority group of the council.

W.H-W.: I was pleasantly surprised that it was a much more colorful and friendly country than I have imagined, because being an ex-communist country I assumed, probably wrongly, that it was very drab and with somber people, but I found it was not the case. Quite a pleasant surprise, which I have enjoyed and I will probably come back.