site.btaMedia Review: September 3

HEADLINES

Tuesday’s news media are dominated by the unprecedented start of the registration of parties and coalitions for the October 27 snap parliamentary elections. Following a delay of over seven hours on Monday, the Central Election Commission (CEC) decided to accept papers from both warring factions in the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), the one behind Honorary Chair Ahmed Dogan and the other behind floor leader Delyan Peevski.

Duma’s top story is headlined: "CEC Obstructed by Two MRF Camps". The daily says that the two factions disturbed the registration process as they tried to race each other to be the first to submit applications for participation.

Trud’s first-page article is about revisions to the Payment Services and Payment Systems Act that are currently under public consultation. Foreseeing the currency conversion from the Bulgarian lev to the euro to be done in a 2:1 ratio, the amendments seem to be at odds with the recently adopted Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria Act which says that the conversion will be according to the official exchange rate, the daily writes.

Telegraph leads with an article about a record increase in the going rate for smuggling refugees across Bulgaria. The increase from EUR 6,000 to EUR 10,000 per refugee has been prompted by tighter border controls introduced because of an expected surge in illegal border crossing attempts, the daily says, quoting sources in the Bulgarian Border Police.

On its front page, 24 Chasa reports of a record BGN 3.5 million in fines being levied on offending motorists by the Interior Ministry per week. The daily also has a lead article about NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose planned eight-day mission aboard Boeing's Starliner in June turned into a months-long stay after technical setbacks emerged.

POLITICS

Trud writes that according to legal experts both MRF wings will be allowed to take part in the upcoming snap elections following the CEC decision on Monday. The factions will be running in the elections in coalitions. The one behind Dogan bears the name Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF), the one behind Peevski MRF - New Beginning.

Rumen Yonchev, chairperson of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (BANU) which is a partner in Dogan’s coalition, was a guest at bTV’s morning programme. The section was titled "How BANU went from ‘MRF ruined Bulgarian agriculture’ to becoming their partner".

Social anthropologist Haralan Aleksandrov and journalist Petko Georgiev commented on the two coalitions’ registration on Nova TV’s morning show. In Aleksandrov’s words, this is a political conflict, and it will be resolved on the political terrain. He was skeptical of the idea that the two factions would succeed in dividing the electorate. Georgiev said that no matter who wins the battle, the balance of power in Bulgaria is already shifting. He added that the balance is tipped in favor of other players, such as GERB and President Rumen Radev.

Referring to MRF during an appearance on Nova TV, former CEC member Prof. Krasimir Kalinov said that "one and the same political party is running in two coalitions".

The dramatic MRF developments were also discussed by journalist Vladimir Yonchev and political analysts Krystian Szkwarek and Strahil Deliyski on the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) morning programme. The section was titled: "Chaos theory and Bulgarian politics".

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The registration for the elections has also been the bone of contention within the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) for a while. Former Socialist leader Korneliya Ninova, who resigned following her party’s poor showing in the previous elections and was temporarily replaced by Atanas Zafirov, was expelled from the party on Sunday. Last week, Ninova authorized two of her aides to register the party as the incumbent Zafirov is not yet officially registered. Thus, the leadership dispute threatens to block the party’s entry in the upcoming elections.

Interviewed on the Nova TV morning programme, BSP National Council member and Deputy Parliament Chair Dragomir Stoynev said that BSP had taken the path to unification. He was adamant that the party would be registered for the vote by Zafirov. Stoynev's interview was reproduced by Mediapool.bg. His words were confirmed by BSP for Bulgaria deputy floor leader Ivan Ivanov, who spoke to BNT. Ivanov said that an agreement for a coalition between left-wing parties is being finalized and will be signed on Thursday. 

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Most dailies write about a GERB meeting held in the Black Sea city of Burgas on Monday that was joined by party coordinators and mayors of regions and municipalities. During the event, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said that leading GERB mayors could become the party’s top-of-the-list candidates in the October 27 elections, adding that they are unlikely to become MPs but can be made ministers, 24 Chasa writes. 

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24 Chasa has a two-page interview with political analyst Dimitar Ganev, who argues that the country is facing the worst political crisis since the advent of democracy in 1989. “There has never been a period with such frequent elections and inability to form a stable government,” he says. “The elections will not solve the crisis. We are in for major changes in the following years,” Ganev adds. The political analyst considers the possibility of a radical change taking place in the party system. “Given the decline of the current parties’ legitimacy and the chronic loss of credibility, new political entities could emerge and completely transform the party system. It is possible to question the constitutional model and replace it by another one, turning the country into a presidential or semi-presidential republic, with all the risks that entails,” he says.

Speaking on the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), political analyst Petar Cholakov offered his take on the tense political situation in Bulgaria. In his words, it is puzzling why GERB and Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) as the two political entities that lost most votes in the last elections compared to the previous votes, do not face as deep a crisis as MRF and BSP do. Cholakov views GERB as “the most monolithic party at the moment”. He noted that the problem the party will run into is who they will enter into coalition with. As far as CC-DB are concerned, Cholakov said that there is no leadership battle taking place within the coalition. The political analyst shares Ganev’s view that new political projects will emerge.

ECONOMY

In a Trud interview, economist Stoyan Panchev comments on the state of the country’s economy, Bulgaria’s chances to enter the euro area as of mid-2025, the impact the euro changeover would have on consumers, the large decline in foreign investment reported by the Bulgarian National Bank, GDP growth, the implementation of the state budget, and the possibility of introducing progressive taxation, among others. Panchev says it is virtually impossible for Bulgaria to join the euro area next year. There is no good reason to scrap the currency board in the current decade, the more so because the country continues to lag behind in terms of income growth and living standards. Premature entry into the euro area would lead to price hikes, fiscal policy problems, and a loss of flexibility in implementing macro policies, the economist adds.

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Citing the latest National Employment Agency data, Duma writes that 18,500 of 153,000 registered as unemployed in Bulgaria are people under the age of 29. More than 8,000 of them have secondary education. By comparison, in the same period last year, the number of unemployed youth stood at 16,300. The regions with the highest number of unemployed youth are Plovdiv (1,900) and Blagoevgrad (1,500). On the other end of the spectrum is Yambol, with less than 300 registered.

HOUSING

Trud has devoted two pages on housing market trends. The daily points to a growing demand for newly built properties, ground-floor apartments with private courtyards, or top-floor apartments with large terraces. An increasing number of young people are buying real estate. IT specialists, pharmacists, and physicians tend to be the most active buyers. There is a tendency for young people to purchase holiday homes on loan, the daily writes, adding that the average prices range between EUR 1,900 and EUR 2,100 per sq m.

HEALTH

Citing data provided by neurologist and epileptologist Rosen Kalpachki, Trud writes that more than 45,000 Bulgarians were struck down by stroke in 2023. This implies that every ten minutes someone in this country suffers an ischemic stroke. Just two out of ten patients seek medical help immediately after the neurological condition occurs. Kalpachki presented the data on Monday during a conference organized by the Bulgarian Stroke Organization and the Association for Stroke and Aphasia Bulgaria.

EDUCATION

Interviewed by Telegraph, psychologist Hristo Monov comments on an array of topics such as the impact of modern gadgets on children's development, the factors contributing to burnout in pupils, and violence in schools and its prevention, to name a few.

ENVIRONMENT

Speaking on BNR, Prof. Emil Gachev of the Climate, Atmosphere and Water Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences said that there is already a persistent water scarcity trend during some periods, especially in the summer. He pointed to the need for alternative technologies for rainwater harvesting, an improved water conveyance and storage structure, and investment in alternative water sources. He singled out the state of forests as a major problem and called for a new strategy for forest restoration and conservation.

HISTORIC WIN FOR GERMAN FAR-RIGHT PARTY

24 Chasa and Telegraph carry stories about the first state election win of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD). The dailies write that the AfD's win in the eastern state of Thuringia is the first time since World War II that a far-right party has come first in a regional vote. The topic is covered on the Nova TV morning programme.