site.btaMedia Review: June 25

POLITICS

President Rumen Radev continues consultations with the political formations of the 50th National Assembly. The head of State is to meet with representatives of the parliamentary groups of "Vazrazhdane" and "BSP for Bulgaria", the media on Tuesday morning report. 

On Monday, GERB leader Boyko Borissov expressed his party's readiness to fulfil its commitment as the first political force and to propose a minority government. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) told President Radev that they would support the government forming mandate of the election winners.

Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) confirmed that they remain in opposition. And they insisted Borissov to make a government because, in the words of floor leader Nikolay Denkov, "he owes this to the Bulgarians, after having toppled two successive governments".

The head of State said that the parties willing to get the third mandate are multiplying, and on Monday Vazrazhdane proposed to unite 125 MPs under their aegis in an anti-GERB-MRF coalition.

CC-DB told Rumen Radev that they would not support an anti-GERB-MRF government of Vazrazhdane. "We do not share the way we see Europe and the world. We remain a pro-European opposition", Denkov clarified.

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Dnevnik runs an analysis by Kaloyan Velchev, PhD candidate in Political Science at Sofia University.

Once again in the last three years we find ourselves in a situation of post-election uncertainty. More than two weeks after we elected the 50th Parliament, the prospects for government are, to say the least, unclear. With a record low voter turnout, Bulgaria elected another highly fragmented parliament, which will find it very difficult to form a governing majority despite (or precisely because of) GERB's leading role in the 50th National Assembly. The political forces in Parliament have already made their bids for what kind of government they want and whom they would support, which outlines the possible combinations that have the potential to lead to the formation of a regular cabinet.

President Rumen Radev has started consultations with the parliamentary groups, after which the procedure of handing over mandates for forming a government will follow. The first mandate will go to GERB as the party that won the elections.

Prospects do not look encouraging. GERB leader Borissov has once again in the last three years demonstrated his inability to form a governing majority around him. At this stage, only MRF declares its readiness for joint governance with GERB. Despite the much-publicised assurances that Borissov [involved in the Barcelonagate case] and MRF co-leader Delyan Peevski [sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act] have cleared their names, it seems they have missed a spot or two as no one is burning with desire to entrust Bulgaria into their dirty hands.

Borissov, it seems, does not want that, either. The leader of GERB has repeatedly said that he cannot govern with MRF alone. That is why he proposes a minority cabinet. At this stage, it seems that the only way for a cabinet to form with the first mandate is for it to be supported by GERB, MRF and breakaways from the Grandeur party. Borissov may be hoping that a minority cabinet can allow him to move away from Peevski and seek alternative majorities, but his isolation is visible and a minority cabinet will depend most on MRF’s support.

The options for a cabinet in this National Assembly are difficult to achieve and do not look very attractive. Coalition has again become an awkward term and any narrative of governance avoids the use of that dirty word. But that does not absolve the parties of the responsibility to produce a government that is capable of making decisions. The impression is given that no one wants to govern, and this is perfectly understandable as long as the political system is hostage to Borissov and Peevski.

There Is Such a People (TISP) turns out to be the main actor on whom it will depend whether a regular government will be formed. Slavi Trifonov's formation, however, has spoiled more than one parliament and has more experience in sending voters to the polls than in solving their problems.

If the third mandate goes to TISP, floor leader Toshko Yordanov and company will have room to manoeuvre and they could form a majority that could isolate GERB and CC-DB, or they could get Borissov's support. Even if we end up with a government, it will not rest on a clear coalition agreement and we will most likely get an expert cabinet that will be captive to floating majorities. The alternative is always elections, and Radev is already warming.

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The real scale of corruption in Bulgaria in 2023 is still hidden, and the institutions that should be working to uncover it are still not proactive and even more and more reluctant to investigate corruption at the highest levels of power, Dnevnik writes. Judging by the criminal proceedings, it can be concluded that there are no officials guilty of corruption crimes.

These are some of the main conclusions of the Anti-Corruption Fund's 2023 annual report, which reflects the development of 57 key high-level corruption cases and includes an analysis of the Anti-Corruption Commission's practice in identifying conflicts of interest. This is the sixth consecutive year of monitoring, and the organization describes 2023 as a "freezing point".

The analysis is based on the operational statistics of the Bulgarian judiciary, and the authors are Andrey Yankulov and Daniela Peneva. If in 2023 the organization declared that the institutions had their "eyes wide shut" to corruption cases, they now say that the most accurate definition of their work is "complete restraint". 

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According to Nova TV, newly elected Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski said that if there is a desire and political will, his country’s negotiating framework with the European Union can be changed. He announced that the deal for recognition of a Bulgarian minority in the constitution will not pass, and there will be no constitutional changes.

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Trud writes that MRF co-leader Delyan Peevski sent a position to the media in which he expresses his dissatisfaction with Mickoski’s statement. 

"The newly elected Prime Minister of North Macedonia chose confrontation and the violation of European principles and made a statement that he intends to divert the country from its Euro-Atlantic path with words preaching enmity and hatred against European Bulgaria. The arrogantly declared refusal to implement the Treaty with Bulgaria is a blatant violation of North Macedonia's EU integration process," Peevski wrote.

ENVIRONMENT

Most media on Tuesday report that large forest fires are burning in the Sakar Mountain, threatening to reach several villages. One of the large blazes between the villages of Dripchevo and Izvorovo is still active. The area of the big fire has grown to nearly 10,000 hectares. The road was closed due to smoke. However, no evacuation of the population is planned at this stage.

"The situation is calm today. Only one section of the fire is developing - north of the village of Izvorovo. The other three sections are closed and clearings have been made," explained Plamen Petkov of the Haskovo fire department. He pointed out that hopes were that the fire would be localised in the early afternoon.

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Jeeps and ATVs are banned in Rila National Park, BNT reports. In recent years, the park management, together with other institutions, has been seriously monitoring the illegal transport of passengers, especially to the Seven Rila Lakes. In July, August and September there will be no such traffic, except for the specialised traffic regime for forestry vehicles, fire-fighting equipment and those vehicles servicing the tourist sites located in the area.

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The weather will be hot, with showers possible in the afternoon. Because of the expected heat, NIMH announced a yellow code for seven districts - Blagoevgrad, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Haskovo, Veliko Tarnovo and Ruse, Nova TV reports.

EDUCATION

Nova TV reports that an idea is being developed to drastically change the training of would-be drivers. It involves the full digitisation of course information and a guarantee that candidates have actually driven during their training. 

According to the chairman of the Association for the Qualification of Motorists, Krasimir Georgiev, at the moment the system can be manipulated very easily and a prospective driver can get a licence without having driven even one hour. Now the hours taken are certified on paper.

The plan is for GPS to track every single learner and for cameras to recognize that it is they who have driven, Georgiev added. 

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24 Chasa reports that Bulgarians rank 14th in Europe for proficiency in English, according to a major study by Education First (EF). Their new annual report on the international index of average English proficiency among adults is based on an analysis of thousands of tests. The best English skills are in the Netherlands.

CRIME

More than half of the doctors in Bulgaria have been victims of aggression, and one in two has been subject to verbal aggression at work, the national radio reports. The data is part of sociological surveys conducted on the initiative of the Bulgarian Medical Association. The results of the consultations with doctors and the public will be presented on Tuesday at a forum in Sofia. The reasons for violence against medics will be discussed, as well as possible solutions to tackle it.