site.btaMedia Review: August 17

ASSASSINATION IN SOFIA

The assassination of businessman and former security services employee Alexey Petrov dominates the media on Thursday. Petrov was shot dead in Sofia at noon on Wednesday following three failed attempts on his life in 1999, 2002 and 2015. His death drew reactions from politicians of all ends of the spectrum, with some seeing it as a sign of "the return of the mobster years and rampant crime in Bulgaria” and “the powerlessness of Bulgarian politicians to deal with the lawlessness and crime in the country”.   
 
A piece in 24 Chasa says that Petrov was seen as a key factor in the construct of the complex coalition between Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria and GERB, and later in drawing the Movement for Rights and Freedoms to the new Euro-Atlantic majority in Bulgarian Politics. Such observations are shared by people who are near Continue the Change leader Kiril Petkov. Petrov’s role became particularly visible in the months before and after the latest snap elections. 

On May 13 the Liberta website wrote about a meeting between GERB leader Boyko Borissov and Kiril Petkov at the Samokov Monastery to discuss the details of a governance between the right forces in Bulgaria. Liberta is the only media outlet which reports the meeting, specifying that it took place on May 1, two weeks before the publication. A source from Continue the Change claims that the initiators of the meeting were Alexey Petrov and Kiril Petrov’s father. In a televised interview at the time of the negotiations for a cabinet Petrov confirmed that he knew well Petko Petkov and Boyko Borissov and that he met Kiril Petkov. 
 
Source from Continue the Change speculate that Petrov may have been shot because he would have returned at the helm of the State Agency for National Security (SANS). Hours after his assassination the same claim was made by former judge Rumyana Chenalova, who presided over the Octopus case against Petrov. Alexey Petrov himself said in the same televised interview that he was ready to return to the State Agency for National Security if the focus is on economic security. Former interior minister Rumen Petkov too saw a connection between Petrov’s assassination and his plans to take control of SANS. 

Petrov became active in the media after the formation of the government of Nikolay Denkov and Mariya Gabriel. 
“I and Boyko Borissov discuss security issues. He invited me to talk. I am not part of any scenarios. I have an opinion and expertise on certain topics,” said Petrov in an interview, in which he urged GERB leader Borissov not to give up his immunity. 
 
Interviewed on Bulgarian National Television, Tihomir Bezlov of the Centre for the Study of Democracy said that Petrov’s assassination may be explained by his recent activities. 
"I think that we should look for the reason in recent months. The insurance company, which is believed to be owned by Petrov, was very active in blocking a bill transposing European rules in insurance, which prompted people to speak of the Alexey Petrov coalition", said security expert Bezlov. 

On the morning panel of bTV, former SANS chief and interior minister Tzvetlin Yovchev said that over the years many power circles were tempted to use Petrov as a weapon against their opponents. “In the pursuit of these goals they gave him a lot of informal power and then were unable to control him anymore.” In 2009, Yovchev fired Petrov from SANS and proposed that the unit of advisers be disbanded.  
 
INTERVIEW

24 Chasa carries an interview with Regional Development Minister Andrey Tsekov. Tsekov says that he is against a purge among staff at his Ministry as it is very difficult to hire good specialists in public administration. He says that in ten months the caretaker cabinet fired 458 employees and appointed 480. Tsekov speaks of plans to extend the width of Trakiya Motorway between Sofia and Plovdiv by adding an extra lane in both directions on state financing. The Ministry has ordered a study of traffic and how the existing route can be used. 

Of the construction of Hemus motorway, Tsekov says the work of Lots 4 and 5 can begin this year and the Ministry is working on legislative changes to legalize what has already been built. The Minister says that the caretaker cabinet continued the practice of concluding in-house contracts for the construction of Hemus motorway in 2022 though violation of the Public Procurement Act. The state-owned Avtomagistrali has concluded over 150 contracts outsourcing the construction of the Hemus motorway. Tsekov said that the Ministry will publish full details about the contracts and the companies. 

ECONOMY

Speaking on Nova News, expert Lyubomir Karimanski said that inflation will not drop below the levels this summer and will continue to climb again. The months to the end of the year are likely to be more difficult, this is evident in the supply chain and reduced imports and exports. Karimanski expects annual inflation to be between 8.5-9.5%. 
  
"Summer is not so active in terms of inflation. We also don't know what the geopolitical development will be in terms of fuel. If the Rossenets oil port is taken over by the state and rushed to privatization by another owner, it could also affect inflation. Tax collection is not high enough, so I don't know how the finance ministry's targets will be met," he said.  
  
Karimanski said that Germany's labour productivity is falling dramatically. "The war in Ukraine may also aim to weaken the German economy. We should not look at the conflict only bilaterally," he believes. 

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24 Chasa carries a report about the annual salaries of managers of private and public hospitals. Kiril Panayotov, manager and owner of the MedicaCor hospital in Ruse is the highest paid hospital manager with an income of BGN 1,532, 848. Recently Health Minister Hristo said that there should be a ceiling on the salaries of managers of public hospitals, as each year a debate about the gap in the wages of managers and rank and file medics sparks anew. 

MEASURES TO REDUCE ROAD CASUALTIES

Telegraf writes that Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov has defended the latest legislative changes which allow the authorities to seize the cars of drivers driving under the influence on the spot. He said that this is a step in the right direction as the government is taking measures to reduce the number of traffic casualties. The government is taking steps so that blood samples are ready within a week. New equipment will be bought, more specialists will be trained, and new laboratories will be accredited, but he warned that this will take time. Now lab results come out after months as very few laboratories are licenced.