Attack (political party)

Attack (Ataka) is a nationalist political party in Bulgaria, founded in 2005 by Volen Siderov, who was at the time presenter of the homonymous TV show Attack on SKAT TV. There are different opinions on where to place the party in the political spectrum: according to most scholars it is extreme right, according to others extreme left, or a synthesis of left- and right-wing. The leadership of the party asserts that their party is "neither left nor right, but Bulgarian". The party is considered ultranationalist and anti-Roma, as well as being anti-Muslim and anti-Turkish. The party opposes Bulgarian membership in NATO and requires revision for what it calls the 'double standards' for the membership in the European Union, while members visit international Orthodox and anti-globalization congresses and the party is closely tied with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. It advocates the re-nationalisation of privatised companies and seeks to prioritize spending on education, healthcare and welfare. In the Bulgarian parliamentary elections of 2005, 2009, and 2013 Attack was consistently the fourth-strongest party. In the 2014 European Parliament election, the party won no seats. Attack was a member of the former Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty European parliamentary group. The Attack Party is a nationalist party. Its political program consists of two documents, some 20 principles, and a program schedule with 10 articles. They define Bulgaria as a one-nation state and assert the supremacy of the state and the Bulgarian nation above ethnic and religious diversity. The party program contains some radical proposals for changes in the constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, such as institutionalization of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and recognition of Orthodoxy as the official religion, as well as participation of the Church in legislative work, all important government decisions and teaching of the Church's doctrine in primary school. The 20 Principles envisage sanctions for defamation of the Bulgarian national sacraments and for slurs against Bulgaria.