site.btaMedia Review: May 3

The road-side explosion incident involving Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev’s motorcade on Monday and Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria's (CC-DB) proposal for cabinet lineup on Tuesday dominate Wednesday's news media.

CC-DB PROPOSAL FOR CABINET LINEUP

Duma's front-page article calls Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria's (CC-DB) proposal for cabinet lineup "a false start" in the attempts to form a government. "Negotiations between CC-DB and GERB stalled around the proposals for ministers", it reads. The second biggest parliamentary formation presented Tuesday the governance priorities and cabinet lineup it will propose if GERB-UDF fail to form a government or choose to return the government mandate and possibly back CC-DB's. It will not sign a coalition agreement with GERB and will not make changes to its draft cabinet, said Academician Nikolay Denkov who heads CC-DB's government as Prime Minister. GERB leader Boyko Borissov called the lineup "unacceptable" as it features leading CC-DB figures as Assen Vassilev (as Finance Minister) and Denkov. On Tuesday, he opened the door for discussions "if there's room for experts from GERB in the next draft". 

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Trud emphasizes on Borissov's comments, while writing that "grant moochers without any professional experience and a person involved in a scandal with money from the National Culture Fund" are among the ministers proposed by CC-DB. The daily says Andrey Yankoulov (nominee for Interior Minister) works at the Anti-Corruption Fund, pointing out that the organization is sponsored by America for Bulgaria Foundation (ABF). The article adds that Gergana Kabaivanova's LocalFood.bg Foundation is also ABF-funded. Kabaivanova is CC-DB's nominee for Tourism Minister. The proposed Ecology Minister Julian Popov is also linked to several NGOs, Trud notes. The newspaper writes that Yana Genova (proposed Culture Minister) was a member of the National Culture Fund board while participating in a "competition" to distribute more than BGN 12 million leva of state money. "It is a shameful fact that Genova gave BGN 100,000 for a project of her own Next Page Foundation," the daily concludes. 

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Telegraph notes that only six of the proposed cabinet members are political figures, while the others are experts. Apart from Denkov and Vassilev, the other CC-DB representatives are Georgi Gvozdeikov (as Transport Minister), Radoslav Ribarski (as Energy Minister), Milen Mateev (as Justice Minister) and Daniel Lorer (as Innovation Minister).

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24 chasa quotes Denkov as saying that the CC-DB's draft cabinet is composed of professionals with impeccable reputation with whom he has had the opportunity to work personally and who are capable of implementing the government programme. He underlined that no compromises will be made with the composition of the cabinet because ministers should be able work as a team. "If GERB decides to support the second mandate, we will seek to formalize their support, but it won’t be in the form of a coalition agreement," Denkov was quoted as saying.

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On NOVA TV's morning show, Denkov argued that GERB-UDF have to choose one of three choices: to support CC-DB's cabinet with the second mandate, to make their own minority cabinet and seek support from other parties or to make a government with BSP and Movement for Rights and Freedoms - the so-called "paper coalition".

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In a Bulgarian National Radio interview, the CC-DB nominee for Justice Minister, Milen Mateev says that his coalition is making its best for the new Parliament to form a government. He said that when it announced its planned government, it did not aim to gain any advantage. "We are trying not to block the process of forming a government. We do what we believe is right." He rejected allegations that the CC-DB governance programme had been prepared jointly with GERB and other allegations that CC-DB did not have any governance programme and wrote it as a matter of emergency: he says they have long had it but needed to re-format it for a 18-month timeframe. He confirmed that the proposed government composition is not negotiable and said that they "would not allow GERB participation in the government".

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Mediapool.bg quotes Borissov as saying on Wednesday that his GERB party halts negotiations with CC-DB, as this position will not change even if the coalition renounces its nomination of Assen Vassilev as Finance Minister. GERB will start consultations on forming a government with the other parties in the National Assembly. "We will apply the same insidious tactic as them - a minority government, consisting only of GERB-UDF", Borissov said.

ASSAULT ON PROSECUTOR GENERAL MOTORCADE

24 chasa writes that only a fraction of a second separated Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev from death, citing Deputy Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov, who is Head of the National Investigation Service. An explosion occurred close to Geshev's car on the road Samokov - Sofia on Monday. "We have suspects for the assassination attempt against the Prosecutor General, but I cannot go into details," Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev is quoted as saying. 

Telegraph's article on the topic reads that National Investigative Service spokesperson Marian Marinov denied Dermendzhiev's statement regarding the suspects, saying that "at this stage, it cannot be said that there are any". The daily writes that a National Protection Service bodyguard will be investigated over whether he gave away Geshev's itinerary.

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Trud News writes that the perpetrators of the attack have left traces near the scene of the assault and this will lead to their swifter capture, citing people familiar with the investigation.

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Duma highlights BSP's position on the matter, which condemns the assault against Geshev calling it "an assault against the institution he represents". "We insist on a swift and effective investigation and punishment for those responsible. We express our concern over the danger of deepening destabilization of institutions," the daily quotes the party.

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In a Bulgarian National Radio interview, social psychologist Nikolay Dimitrov looks at what he describes as "a war of interpretations" of the assault on the Prosecutor General's motorcade on May 1. He says that the Prosecution Service in Bulgaria is strongly marginalized and is not recognized by society as a working state institution. He considers that "a value crisis" and says that prosecutors do nothing to change that attitude to them. "Suspicions that things are not what they seem – and even that all this is a fabrication - should be been expected," he says. According to the analyst, however, the assault shows that statehood is at risk. "It suddenly put us in the group of countries with a mafia, but on the other hand, it put us among the 'good countries' with a mafia," Dimitrov said.

ECONOMY

The Bulgarian National Radio ran an interview with rose farmer Metodi Stefanov. He says that without the help of the State rose growing will vanish. The picture of rose growing differs by region and largely depends on demographic factors. He says: "In Strelcha, which has been a cradle of rose growing in the past 40 years with over 300 ha of small family-owned plantations and a model of excellence for small-scale rose farming, some 80% of plantations are now abandoned. The reason is demographic. The rose-growing generation is vanishing. The picture is different in the area of Karlovo. Rose growing is booming, and in the best possible way. The village of Rozino, to take one example, is thriving and does not have the demographic problem [of Strelcha]." Stefanov also says that the price of rose blossoms hit the bottom in 2021 when it was BGN 1.30-1.60 per kilo, then more than doubled in 2022 to reach BGN 3.60 and now it is 20% to 30% higher than that. 

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The Bulgarian National Radio quoted Reuters as reporting that wheat on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell for a third straight trading session on Wednesday to the lowest in 25 months. The negative global trend affects Bulgarian grain growers who want to sell their grain at high prices and want to do it as soon as possible as they have to empty their warehouses by the end of May to bring in the new crop after the harvest. 

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Duma quotes Eurostat reporting a 7% increase in the annual inflation rate in the euro area in April compared to 6.9% in March, marking the end of a run of five consecutive monthly declines. The article highlights a decline in the food, alcohol, and tobacco prices.

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Trud reports that after nearly a year of delay, the Transport Ministry has launched four orders for the purchase of trains and locomotives worth over BGN 2.8 billion excluding VAT. They are for 7 double-deckers and 35 single-deckers, 20 push-pull trains and 18 shunting locomotives, all of which have a 15-year maintenance contract. Two of the orders include an option to purchase additional units. The maximum speed they can reach is between 160 and 200 km/h. Some of the machines are also to be equipped with a buffet - something that is currently missing in Bulgarian State Railways' rolling stock.

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24 chasa writes that Confederation of Employers and Industrialists of Bulgaria (CEIB) Chairman Kiril Domuschiev will host a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in Sofia on May 12. Former US President Bill Clinton's initiative is a chance for Bulgaria and the country's business leaders to be part of the search for important solutions to global problems such as food security, education and climate change, Domuschiev is quoted as saying. "Global demand for resources is projected to double in the next 30 years. This will require innovations aimed at protecting animal health and putting agriculture at the centre of attention," he noted.

MEDIA FREEDOM

The press writes that Bulgaria climbs 20 places in the annual ranking of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which the organization announced on World Press Freedom Day (May 3). This country ranks 71st in the 2023 edition of the index, up from 91st last year. "Despite its good position in the report, which assesses freedom of expression in 180 countries and territories, Bulgaria's score does not improve significantly," said Pavol Szalai, RSF's Head of the EU/Balkans Desk.

Prompted by the new edition of the RSF's media freedom index, the Bulgarian National Radio speaks with journalist Ivan Bakalov of e-Vestnik. "It is bad, we are in the company of African countries," he comments. Of the pressure on independent and investigative journalists in Bulgaria, he says: "They start suing you and every case lasts for three years – and you lose any desire to do investigative journalism and write about outrageous cases." He says it is hard to put "freedom" and "journalism" in Bulgaria at the moment "because in addition to the traditional resentment of the authorities to see published things that expose them" there is also the fact that journalism and printed press does not bring revenue. "All profit has moved from the publisher to Internet. Journalism has become low-paid and people are avoiding it. What has remained is more PR than journalism. The large papers in the West have reached a point where 70% of their content is generated by PR experts. Today, the famous people with whom journalists used to communicate freely, are surrounded by PR experts. PR experts tell them what to do and what to say so they can improve their ratings. Even in politics, many of the things that are done are done on the advice of PR experts and thus news is generated. This is very dangerous because it replaces the real with the fake."

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On bTV's morning show, Council for Electronic Media Chairperson Sonya Momchilova commented on the European Commission's European Media Freedom Act proposal, which sets rules to protect media pluralism in the EU and to safeguard against political interference in editorial decisions. She is concerned by the idea of common media regulation in the EU. "The more there is talk of defence, of protecting a freedom, the more powerless it becomes."