874.00/6–1645: Telegram
The United States Representative in Bulgaria (Barnes) to the Secretary of State
[Received 11:40 p.m.]
320. It now looks as if the Pri Min and his Zveno group are about to give way before Communist pressure and formally accept Obbov as the Agrarian leader within the FF. Under the circumstances it is expected that Petkov, Bumbarov and Pavlov, possibly also Derzhanski (the four Agrarian Ministers in the Cabinet) will be replaced within the next three days. The probable fate of Cheshmejieff,98 the Socialist leader who like Petkov has been a target for Communist vituperation, is not yet clear as in the case of the Agrarian Ministers but good reason exists to believe that he too will be forced to make way for a Communist tool. Thus it now seems that within a few days the so-called FF of Sept 9 will consist only of the Communist Party representing a membership certainly of no more than 10% of the country’s voters, the Zveno group whose recorded adherents are so few as to preclude expression thereof in terms of population percentage and the “rump” groups of Agrarians and Socialists, the former under the leadership of the Communist tool Obbov and the latter led by the Communist controlled puppet Neikov.
I gave expression to the foregoing estimate of the that is about to be Front in a conversation yesterday with the MinFonAff, adding that I gravely feared he and the PriMin and other Zveno Ministers, were about to fall between two stools, because of their attitude of compromise, and their failure to give any real support to the leaders of the broad current of agrarian opinion. The Min invited the observation by telling me that Obbov was about to be accepted as the Agrarian leader within the Govt while at the same time he referred to Obbov as a “worn out prostitute”.
I expressed the view that the US and the UK and the USSR are certain in the end to reach an agreement about matters in Bulgaria: that it would be a pity if in the meantime Zveno became so compromised by its spinelessness to be of no interest in the end to anyone of the principal Allied Powers concerned with the internal situation of the country. I said that as Bulgaria was under an Armistice [Page 258] regime it should be obvious to him that what was thought about Bulgaria outside the country must have a deep influence on internal political affairs. I expressed the personal view that one could hardly expect an election held under the absolute control of such a “bobtailed end” lot of political elements as will shortly constitute the Govt and under an election law containing such restrictive and tricky provisions as those set forth in my tel 303, June 7 to bring forth a Govt sufficiently representative of all democratic elements in the country as to justify serious thought of concluding a treaty of peace with such a Govt.
The Minister replied by resort to two time worn Bulgarian excuses. He said (1) so long as the Red Army remains in Bulgaria no one can hope to contend successfully with the Communist Party and (2) he repeated the Bulgarian proverb that “when the big horses in the barnyard (the great powers) begin to kick and cavort it is only the poor little flea (Bulgaria) who is injured”. It is my understanding that these are the same arguments used by those in power when Germany dominated here.
Rptd to Moscow as 168.
- Grigor Cheshmedjiev, Minister of Social Security.↩