site.btaMedia Review: November 16

NO-CONFIDENCE DEBATE

The debate on the motion for a vote of no confidence in the Nikolay Denkov Cabinet is widely covered across the Thursday press, online media outlets and the national televisions and radio. The motion is backed by BSP for Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane and There Is Such a People and is due to be put to the vote later on Thursday.

Duma leads with a story titled “Korneliya Ninova: Resignation of the Cabinet and Programmatic Government”. That was the highlight of Ninova’s address during the parliamentary debate. Duma has a total of three pieces on the debate: one with the position of party leader Ninova, one with the statement of Atanas Zafirov of the party leadership and one with the address by Kristian Vigenin, who presented the reasoning of the vote motion in the plenary chamber. The paper does not mention what any of the other parties – or the government – said in the debating chamber.

Mediapool reports the matter under the headline “The Doomed Vote of No-confidence: Some Hybrid Talking Points, Some Anecdotes and the Usual Talk”. The subheading reads “BSP wants programmatic government, Vazrazhdane wants prison for ‘Tagarenko’ and Borissov – a new budget”. “Borissov” is GERB leader Boyko Borissov and “Tagarenko” is the disparaging name that Vazrazhdane used for Defence Minister Todor Tagarev to mock his strong pro-Ukrainian position.

Trud says in a front-page story on the debate that “Tagarev’s wife has won a contract for drones”. “Questions about procurement contracts awarded to relatives and friends of the Defence Minister remain unanswered,” says the story. 

The Telegraf headline for the debate story is “Opposition Calls for Programmatic Government”, Tagarev is quoted as saying in another headline “We are protecting the national interests”

In the morning show of Bulgarian National Television, political scientists Stoycho Stoev, Daniel Smilov and Yuri Aslanov commented the no-confidence debate on Wednesday, the 2024 draft budget and the recent local elections with the failed election of a chair of the Sofia Municipal Council. 

Smilov expects the no-confidence motion to fail and said it was planned in the context of the local election campaign and now it does not make much sense. Aslanov said that the whole concept for the no-confidence vote is to give the opposition a chance to make itself heard. He does not expect the vote to succeed either. Aslanov believes that the big test of the ruling majority is going to come with the discussion of next year's state budget. Stoychev touched upon the contradictions in the ruling majority, between GERB and CC-DB, and says that Vazrazhdane “more or less dominates this opposition, it formulates some clear messages against this majority”.

POLITICS

Citing knowledgeable sources in Parliament, Mediapool.bg writes that CC-DB, GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) have agreed to take up the issue of bringing party funding to light, which could lead to an increase in party subsidies, but also to the introduction of additional restrictions on donations from individuals. The issue is expected to be tabled for discussion in parliament after the New Year. CC-DB is pushing for a reduction of private interests in party funding, and the formation's co-chairman Hristo Ivanov calls this "nationalization of parties". "At the moment there is too great a risk that parties will become dependent on private interests, for which there is no regulation. In a view of that, we need to ensure that they are national parties, not private ones," Ivanov told Mediapool.

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Mediapool reports that the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office “has found no grounds for petitioning the court to dissolve the populist pro-Russian party Vazrazhdane". The dissolution of the party was sought by a group of citizens earlier this year on grounds which they found in the party platform, actions and positions during the pandemic, attacks on media outlets, positions on Russia's war against Ukraine, positions against refugees and ethnic minorities, and people with different sexual orientation, among others. The prosecutors based their refusal entirely on the European Court of Human Rights' long-standing Strasbourg case law on freedom of association and freedom of expression. 

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Telegraph quotes Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov as saying that the differences between the parties supporting the government are not that big and those concerning the 2024 state budget won’t bring it down. There is, however, significant tension in the majority over the Lukoil exemption from the EU ban on Russian oil and over what GERB fears to be a deal between Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, the Socialists and Vazrazhdane in the Sofia Municipal Council. That transpired from comments by GERB leader Boyko Borissov, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and Movement for Rights and Freedoms floor leader Delyan Peevski.

Dnevnik.bg has a commentary titled “When [Delyan] Peevski and [Ahmed] Dogan Come to Light”. Delyan Peevski is the MRF floor leader and most prominent representative of late and Ahmed Dogan is the party’s founder and honorary chairman. The commentary says: “When  MRF announces a course towards modernization and the process is spearheaded by MRF Honorary Chairman Ahmed Dogan and floor leader Delyan Peevski, what kind of modernity should one expect? Dystopian. Their political biographies of association with the Multigroup group, of enrichment through odd and obscure schemes and connections with the former State Security, and for Peevski - with sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, do not give one a chance to think of anything else.”
In the bTV morning show, three political analysts speculated on what would be the distribution of powers after the rotation of the Prime Ministers in February, as agreed between GERB and Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB).
Political analyst Ruzha Smilova said: “It seems to me that GERB and MRF have forgotten that the campaign for the local elections is over and they continue to exacerbate tensions, paving the way to a crisis. One contentious topic is the Lukoil exemption from the EU ban on Russian oil. The local elections measured the weight of the political forces and that would be the reason for the shifting balances in the cabinet after the rotation. Some of the partners [supporting the government] are not happy [after the elections]. One of the main aims of the ongoing attacks is to make sure the current finance minister be removed after GERB gets the prime-ministerial office in the February rotation. Much is at stake here for GERB and MRF.”

Social analyst Dimiter Ganev, Trend Agency: “The question in the coalition is who will prevail in the next few months. The issues of contention are the Lukoil derogation, the budget and the constitutional changes. The internal balances are of great importance as the new cabinet will be discussed in February. It is during these months that a campaign will be on to determine who will be in a better position when the new cabinet is formed. It will indeed be new. Many of the ministers may keep their seats in the next cabinet, but the question is who will be in a stronger negotiating position.”

Social analyst Kolyo Kolev, Mediana Agency: “The election campaign was about the voters. Now all this noise is about threatening the ‘partner’ in the government arrangement: ‘if you don't listen to us, we will teach you a lesson’. This is rocking the boat in order to gain some or other position of power. GERB and MRF are not satisfied with the current government format as it isolates them from power. It is clear that a redistribution is aimed at.”

bTV had a report in its morning show about the re-count of votes for the Haskovo, southern Bulgaria, municipal council. The counting is done by experts and the only ones allowed to observe the process are candidates who have contested the election results. The problem is that a day before the re-counting started, one of the two experts met with representatives of the parties contesting the election results: BSP, Continue the Change, VMRO and Vazrazhdane. The meeting lasted 11 minutes and was caught on camera. All of the participants denied any fowl play but the journalist question the admissibility of such a meeting.

DEFENCE

The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reports that because of the war in Ukraine, military warehouses and facilities for storage of weapons and ammunition have beefed up the security measures. Projects have been launched for building fire safety and surveillance systems. That transpires in a written answer by Defence Minister Todor Tagarev to a question by MP Ivaylo Mirchev from CC-DB. The control of handling explosives, firearms and ammunition has been tightened, as has the security at such facilities. The Minister’s order is not published on the Ministry’s website, BNR points out.

ECONOMY

Former economy and transport minister Nikola Yankov, who has also served on the Supervisory Board of the Lukoil Neftochim Burgas oil refinery, said in a BNR interview that “the intelligence service has been tasked to write something to justify the current position of the prime minister and the government in favour of keeping the exemption for Lukoil”. In his words, the Prime Minister's interest is to keep the exemption and the goal is to protect Russian interests. He expects that the exemption will be lifted around the New Year under pressure of the US and EU partners. "The big problem for Bulgaria and the risk for national security is if Neftochim is sanctioned as a company violating the EU sanction by smuggling to other countries fuel produced from Russian oil, which is forbidden under the terms of the Bulgarian derogation and the EU sanctions package.”  Yankov was adamant that there was no risk of supply shortage on the Bulgarian fuel market. He argued that Neftochim has stopped production before - for planned repairs - but no one on the market has felt it.  “Bulgaria has a 120-day oil and fuel safety stock and this quantity are sufficient to meet demand for months to come,” said Yankov.

Telegraph reports that people were queuing for cheap bread and cooking oil on the first day of a government-backed campaign for affordable foods in the supermarkets. The campaign uses “Affordable for you” tags that are put on low-priced items in supermarkets.
Trud leads with a story titled “Minister Conspires with Supermarket Chains” the subheading writes about “new developments in the lies of Economy Minister Bogdan Bogdanov”. The story says that Bogdanov has conspired with the supermarket chains against the interests of consumers – through the “Affordable for you” campaign. Cabbage costs BGN 0.49/kg in the campaign and BGN 0.39/kg in another supermarket without the campaign. The story goes on and on with examples where “Affordable for you” tags are put on items from the supermarkets’ brochures with deals, which would have sold cheaper anyway. On the same spread, Trud has stories about Bulgaria being the countries with the highest inflation; about the rising prices of rice and milk; about the price of bread staying the same despite the drop in wheat prices and the 45% decline in the price of fertilizers. Also here is a story warning that shops use the Black Friday to get rid of old stock. 

There was more on the Affordable for You campaign in the morning show of Nova TV. Economist Mihail Krastev commented that the initiative will have an effect but not the one sought by the government. “It is not an anti-inflationary measure. Prices and inflation are contained by lowering consumption. When the State stimulates consumption, we cannot expect a reduction in inflationary pressures. With higher consumption, producers of goods will benefit from maintaining higher prices. To reduce prices, consumption has to be reduced,” he said.

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Trud publishes the position of the Fiscal Council on the draft 2024 national budget unveiled by the Finance Ministry last week, and the forecast until 2026. It warns that the proposed budget will raise inflation and act as a stumbling block on the way to eurozone entry. It also warns that the expected budget revenues are unrealistic. The main function of the Fiscal Council is to monitor compliance with the fiscal rules set out in the Public Finance Act and relating to the General Government Sector and the state budget. It issues opinions on the Finance Minister's spring and autumn macroeconomic forecasts, the medium-term budget forecast, the draft state budget and the budgets of the State Social Insurance and the National Health Insurance Fund.
Duma reproduces a Fakti.bg interview with Plamen Pavlov, the head of the Bulgarian Gas Association, who says that the 36% increase of the price of natural gas that the regulator approved for November is caused by the BGN 20/KWh fee that Bulgaria introduced for Russian piped gas import. The headline says: “We raised our own gas price because we are run by guileful people”. 

In a Duma interview, Vassil Velev, who heads the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, criticizes the draft state budget and says that the revenues will remain on paper only while the costs will be very real. “If all flawed calculations of the government remain as they are, there is a financial crisis is store for us in the foreseeable future,” he says.

PROTEST OF FOOTBALL FANS

All press and online media outlets write about the protests of football fans against the current leadership of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU). The protest will be held in central Sofia on Thursday while the national team is playing a European qualifier with Hungary – to empty stands, as per a decision by BFU.

ENVIRONMENT

BNR has an interview with Vassil Todev MP (CC-DB) in his capacity as member of the parliamentary agriculture committee which supported on November 15 a current ban on building on woodland that has been acquired from the State in swap deals that were popular in the early 2000s. He said: “One would expect that forest swaps is an issue that belongs to the past, but it is not. We are yet to understand the magnitude of the consequences. He recalled that in the years between 2007 and 2009, a lot of lucrative land was exchanged between the State and private buyers. The state has lost millions from these swaps, even reportedly over a billion.” He also said that Bulgaria has failed to fulfil its obligation to the European Commission to recover the unlawful state aid that was provided to beneficiaries through these land swaps, Vasil Todev further commented.

BNR reports that the Bulgarian environmental organization For the Nature and farmers have written to the Prime Minister and the Agriculture Minister to urge them to make sure Bulgaria votes against extending the period of use of the controversial chemical herbicide glyphosate in the European Union for 10 more years. Speaking to BNR, Dr Svetla Nikolova of Agrolink explained that what made them write the letter is new studies which show that glyphosate causes leukemia in young rats.

In a development following the interview, it transpired that the European Commission will continue the use glyphosate in the European Union after the 27 member countries again failed to find a common position.

SOCIETY

24 Chasa leads with a story about the Bulgarian connection in the presidential elections in Madagaskar on November 16: one contender, Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, has been married to a Bulgarian woman since 2001, and another contender and former president Marc Ravalomanana, has a son who is married to a Bulgarian woman. Both women are from the Black Sea city of Burgas.

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Dnevnik has four rules about fighting trolls on Internet by marketing and PR consultant Zornitsa Georgieva. Her four rules are: 1. Analyze trolls and study their strengths and weaknesses; 2. Extract useful information from trolls and their talking points; 3. Know the strengths and weaknesses in the algorithms of the social networks where the trolls inhabit; 4. Identify "opinion leaders" and give them free rein.

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In a Trud interview, Academician Lachezar Traykov, the Rector of the Sofia Medical University and President of the Board of Rectors of Bulgarian higher schools, argues that the model of the state subsidies for universities is “morally obsolete”. The interview is prompted by the 30th anniversary of the Board of Rectors and focuses on how higher schools in Bulgaria develop, their funding, faculty wages. Quote: “Our aim is to make our higher education more attractive for foreign students because the domestic resources are almost completely used up.”

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In a 24 Chasa interview with a strong-worded headline, Constitutional Court Justice Atanas Semov slams the education system. The headline quotes him as saying that “schools produce illiterate sociopaths and schoolbooks get butchered” [by frequent changes] as if it were the Middle Ages. He calls for urgent measures for stopping what he calls “the de-bulgaricization of Bulgarian education”. 

A Nova TV report showed how “controlled” explosions during the construction of the Botevgrad-Mezdra road caused severe damage on some 20 houses and many vehicles in the northern village of Rebarkovo on Wednesday. The village people were notified 10 minutes before the explosions. The mayor told Nova: “Ten minutes before the explosion I had a call from the company informing me that the region has been secured. Shortly after the blasts terrified local people started calling me. The next day representatives of the company came and we drew up protocols, describing all damage. There will be another 4-5 explosions until December 20. I hope they don’t do it the same way.” The report showed a local man whose house was hit by a rock. “A rock came through the roof and landed on my bed. Fortunately I wasn’t there. A commission came and they will pay us for the damage.”