Media Review: Jan. 20

20.1.2023
SOFIA, 20.01.2023 12:35 (BTA) HOME AFFAIRS As all other media, “Hello, Bulgaria” on NOVA.TV focuses on today’s leaders’ meeting announced by Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Korneliya Ninova who holds the third government-forming mandate. Democratic Bulgaria, Continue the Change and Vazrazhdane will not attend the meeting at the National Assembly. GERB, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and Bulgarian Rise will. Ninova already said that if agreement in the left’s priorities is not reached at this meeting the efforts to compile a government will not continue. *** "At the moment GERB are trying to present themselves as the dialogical, the responsible, taking national responsibility to pull the country out in a difficult moment. The dance is not a tango, but it looks like a waltz." Trud quotes political scientist Lyubomir Stefanov as saying on Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), commenting on the leaders' meeting called by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) with the third government-forming mandate. "Boyko Borissov has to get back at Korneliya Ninova for one of her jokes that she was waiting for the two of them to meet like men. He has now hit the right occasion to remind her of the gesture," he said. Asked if this was a possible new coalition, the political scientist replied that there are no impossible things, but "In politics, when messages are spoken, when political issues are spoken in a human, understandable way, it should be possible to form a coalition. This is the one I think tends to happen zero." "Kostadin Kostadinov is going to make one last bet against the bank to see how much his party's ceiling is," Stefanov noted, adding, "The electoral ceiling of Vazrazhdane may go up quite a bit, but it has been hit. If up to this point it was explainable why with no one anything, at some point you have to start showing your supporters that you are doing something, the political scientist said. "The president's positions have started coming out through his nose. More and more disapproval is increasing. There is no longer a politician who has a positive balance between approval and disapproval. The president, in my view, is now going beyond the denier bark, the very razor thin edge, because it has become clear to his supporters what game he is playing. It is, unfortunately, not in the interest of Bulgarian democracy and the stability of the state," Stefanov stressed. According to him, the handing of the third mandate to the BSP has shown that the president does not want to form a government. He expressed the opinion that the president did this because he felt that his opponents in the face of Continue the Change, GERB and Democratic Bulgaria were ready to enter into a coalition agreement. He said the President should stop playing with political party projects because he has not been successful so far. "This is a wrong practice and it would be good for the president to stop practicing it. It would be good if the people have a real choice and not an imputed one." It is unlikely that there will be a new coalition between Democratic Bulgaria and Continue the Change, Stefanov further opined. According to him, it is a matter of internal judgment and objective conversation between the two formations. According to him, such a coalition should not be made because their differences are coming out more and more. The political scientist believes that the two formations should highlight their own political profiles. According to him, the parties should start talking to citizens who do not vote. They are growing alarmingly and I want to see a commitment to them, Stefanov was adamant. If parties manage to get their messages beyond their narrow party cores, I think coalitions will be much easier in terms of getting support for declared political intentions, he added. Referring to the caretaker government’s report on its work, Stefanov commented that people’s life did not improve thanks to it, or to the efforts of the President, but rather to the EU decisions and everyone should know their place. *** Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds Management Atanas Pekanov is quoted by BNR as commenting on interpretation related to his possible nomination as a future caretaker prime minister in case the BSP fails with the third government-forming mandate. "I think Bulgaria has a great prime minister at the moment. I have known him for a long time, I work great with him, so I would not comment on such speculations. In the meantime, the constitutional procedure continues. I also wish success to the party that has received the mandate. The President has judged that it has the best chance of making it. We are looking at the leaders' meeting today and what will come out of it." Asked if he is invited he would nevertheless accept, Pekanov answered that he is currently focused on quite grave matters related to the Recovery and Resilience Plan, Bulgaria is currently in a constitutional procedure [of cabinet-forming talks] and an absolute chance should be given to Ninova whom he wished success. He also expressed hope the BSP would find a solution to the current difficult political situation . *** "The only proposal during the BSP National Council was to give a mandate for talks with all parliamentary groups. The so-called "internal opposition" in the BSP got used to talking first and thinking later. They did not take into account that by claiming that the BSP should return the mandate immediately, they were compromising the position of the president, whose mouthpieces they are," BSP National Council member Rumen Ovcharov said on the air of NovaNews, as quoted by the Duma daily. The BSP will look for what unites parties, not what divides them. "If we look for what divides, we go back to where we were. First, we need to see these five things that need to be done and whether we agree to do them. These are the budget - with clear parameters of that budget - both social and financial. The other one is Schengen - what are we still doing to protect our national interest," Ovcharov said. He said that a figure to occupy the position of prime minister is yet to be found. It is important to have someone who can be trusted, not someone who will say one thing and do another, as happened in the previous cabinet," he said. According to Ovcharov, Belene N-plant should be built: "Not even two, but four units, plus the two at Kozloduy N-plant. *** Before the leaders' meeting: is a four-formation cabinet possible? "There are chances for a government in theory, but in practice - no. GERB managed to break the coalition formed some time ago. Borissov managed to split them to collect more mandates," journalist Nidal Algafari commented on "Today Morning" show on bTV. "We are heading for elections. The election campaign is already starting," he added, but explained that a large number of voters will not go to the polls. "MRF, GERB and BSP should find a way and common language. There are points around which they all unite. "Yes, Bulgaria" can be counted among the system parties, but they have concerns about whether they will skip the elections. If they unite with Continue the Change, they will not increase their result, but there will be fewer forces in parliament," Algafari said. *** “Minekov Declared Air A Monument of Culture”, Trud News reports, featuring a photo of an undeveloped urban area in the southern city of Plovdiv. The piece carries the entire story about the old tobacco warehouse building in the city acquired by Capital Holding Group, which caretaker Culture Minister Velislav Minekov accused of destroying a monument of culture in 2022. Twenty-eight days after the semi-collapsed building was demolished and the site was cleared, Minekov stubbornly and in violation of the Monuments of Culture Act declared the empty site on No. 51-53 "Hristo Botev" Blvd. a monument of culture, the company claims. *** FOREIGN AFFAIRS The secretary of the King Boris III Bulgarian cultural club in Ohrid, Hristian Pendikov, was beaten up in a local catering establishment Thursday evening, Vuktor Stoyanov of the Macedonia Foundation said on NOVA.TV. Stoyanov specified that Pendikov had tried to run away after the initial attack, but then another three had attacked him whom he did not know personally. The young man is now in hospital with a broken jaw and other injuries and an operation is scheduled for Monday, Stoyanov said. North Macedonian authorities confirmed for NOVA.TV that the attacked man is in hospital with a broken jaw and other head injuries. Pendikov identified two of the attackers as public figures in Ohrid known to belong to the underworld. "People who have stated their anti-Bulgarian sentiments. We all expect the authorities in North Macedonia to do their job", Stoyanov stressed. "Violence, hatred and discrimination must stop! I expect an immediate reaction from the authorities in both countries! This situation is intolerable. The political class, the media and academia have created an atmosphere of hatred and persecution of Bulgarians. The European institutions will of course be informed! The young man is in hospital! The police have been informed!", MEP Andrey Kovatchev said on his Facebook account. ECONOMY Civil Liability May More than Double, Bulgarian Rise MP Liliya Nedeva says in an interview for Trud News. Nedeva sees no reason for the recently adopted amendments to the Insurance Code concerning the payment of compensation of victims of road accidents under the Green Card system. The amendment to the Insurance Code creates a requirement for immediate and unconditional payment in the event of road accidents abroad by the National Bureau of Bulgarian Motor Insurers (NBBMI) to other national bureaux. Nedeva sees no reason for interference in the matter, arguing that the European Green Card system has existed since 1949 and the insurance certificate was introduced in 1953. The adoption of the amendments would mean draining Bulgarian insurance companies which could lead to bankruptcies. This would also mean the price of civil liability would at least double. *** The frameworks in which the SC tried to bring the Council of Ministers into a negotiation process to open up and somehow change the Recovery and Sustainability Plan guaranteed the failure of these negotiations. Parliament is in violation of its own Rules of Procedure and Organisation insofar as the issue was considered by only one committee, former environment minister Borislav Sandov said in "The Day Begins" show on Bulgarian National Television (BNT). He explained that the President of the National Assembly had addressed two other committees, the one on the environment and the one on European affairs, which had not met and had not expressed an opinion. Only the Committee on Energy had an opinion. The decision of the National Assembly in fact says that we will not decarbonise - something that is impossible because of the commitment Bulgaria has already made to close the coal plants in 2038. He explained that the President of the National Assembly had turned to two other committees, the one on environment and the one on European affairs, which had not met and had not expressed an opinion. Only the Committee on Energy had an opinion. The decision of the National Assembly in fact says that we will not decarbonise - something that is impossible because of the commitment Bulgaria has already made to close the coal plants in 2038. *** Trying to bring down food prices - businesses took money for the electricity, but people didn't feel it. Caretaker Economy Minister Nikola Stoyanov said that controlling inflation was the most serious challenge in the work of the cabinet. They are negotiating with chains, asking them for information on how they calculate the value of the goods they sell, "24 hours" learned after the government's report. Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and caretaker Transport and Communications Minister Hristo Alexiev said his experts pointed out that more than BGN 7 billion came into the business as aid for the expensive electricity. Until the end of 2022, the industry received 100% aid, when energy exchange prices were over BGN 250/MWh. Since January 1, the threshold has been lowered to BGN 200, so in practice electricity for businesses has become 20% cheaper but retail prices have not budged so far. *** "Crazy Prices Are Killing the Middle Class in Bulgaria" is the title of an analysis in 24 Chasa by Lyuboslav Kostov, Chief Economist of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB). Inflation in Bulgaria is not driven by consumption and income growth cannot be contained. Capitalism in Bulgaria is beginning to develop into feudalism. In a very simplified version it can be said that there are only two types of taxes: the first is the one the public can see. The second can neither be seen nor evaluated in advance. Inflation is of the second kind. It is the most insidious tax levied on Bulgarian society, and disproportionately so. It hits hardest those who consume most of their income, and these are usually people on low and middle wages. In fact, inflation updates the level of all prices in the economy to a nominally higher level, without caring about preserving people's purchasing power. That was the main problem of 2022. All the politicians talked about high inflation but did little to curb it and compensate people's incomes for the loss of real purchasing power. Unfortunately, today, middle class jobs cannot guarantee a lifestyle that matches average standards. In 2023, these are already two different concepts. In order to sustain consumption and production, wage growth for workers cannot be postponed because this inevitably leads to a reduction in the volumes that can be purchased. Aggregate demand is the main driver of real economic growth in Bulgaria, and if it were not for it, our country would certainly have fallen into recession a few years ago. Unfortunately, the Bulgarian social model is modelled on the Anglo-Saxon model, which cannot thrive in these latitudes. The funds for meeting needs are formed on the basis of the so-called residual principle, i.e. the limits set in the budgets. These budgets created surpluses and zero deficits and kept money for the real economy in the form of 'buffers' against unforeseen circumstances. It is no coincidence that not a single fiscal framework of a budget in terms of revenue, expenditure and balance, matches in terms of actual performance the parameters originally set. In our country, every year, without exception, a tighter than necessary fiscal consolidation has taken place. For example, 2022 ended on a deficit of 2.9%, when it was set to be 4.1%. This means that the state did not spend the nearly BGN 2 billion foreseen in the original estimates when the budget was adopted. This behaviour has become a diagnosis over the last decade in terms of how public finances are managed. By copying strategic programmes and recipes for governance of countries and peoples from other continents, the neoliberal instead of the European model of politics gradually took root in Bulgaria. Its roots are already too deep - they have penetrated the minds and behaviour of business, changed the objectives and content of social dialogue, created governance norms to which every government adheres regardless of its party colour.. *** “Aid - directly to the people, so there will be consumption” is the title of an editorial in 24 Chasa which asks why aid should not be given directly to the people instead of the businesses which are obviously accumulating excess profits. *** Trud quotes former social minister Hristina Hristova as saying on Bulgarian National Radio that the revisions regarding the People with Disabilities Act and the medical expert evaluation board decisions are good news to the disabled. According to the amendments, in the event of delays in the issuance of a medical expert evaluation board decision, in cases of re-certification, people with disabilities will retain their rights and financial and social support for them will continue. Their financial and targeted support, including free vignette stickers, entitlement to personal assistance, assistant support, and various tax benefits, will not be interrupted. /BR/ BISTRA ROUSHKOVA, Dailies (BTA Photo), source: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/393367-media-review-jan-20