site.btaPresident Radev: Resignations Are No Longer a Solution but a Way to Evade Responsibility

115 POLITICS - PRESIDENT - ADDRESS TO THE NATION

President Radev:
Resignations Are No Longer a Solution
but a Way to Evade Responsibility


Sofia, September 3 (BTA) - In an address to the nation Monday marking the beginning of the new political season, President Rumen Radev said resignations are no longer a solution but rather a way to evade responsibility. Radev was referring to the intended removal of three government ministers in the wake of a tragic bus accident in which 17 people were killed.

He said: "The problem of the government is systemic, not personal. Authoritarian rule is not the kind of future that Bulgaria wants."

The President further noted: "A possible new election cycle in the immediate future would not create any new prospects. Responsible behaviour requires the ruling coalition to focus on the most pressing problems of society. What citizens expect from the opposition in and outside Parliament is accelerated build-up of a convincing alternative to the current government."

"While the nation needs ideas, it is drowning in scandals," he observed.

Radev recalled that during the past political season he repeatedly warned of two systemic flaws plaguing present-day Bulgaria: injustice and corruption. "They are due to the malpractices of a minority of people and the resignation of the majority. Without the resignation of the majority, the minority would have been unable to paralyze our society."

The President predicted that Bulgaria is headed for months of political effort in which both the politicians and the citizens have a part to play. "Those who fail to take their share of responsibility will burden all the rest. If the political class proves unable to tackle the problems, the Bulgarians will have to find new avenues for solving them."

Radev recalled that the Commercial Register broke down last month, and in a separate development, 200,000 Bulgarians lost their car insurance after their insurer went bankrupt. "These were not just incidents, they were breaches of statehood." He went on to note: "Lawfulness and transparency are preconditions important to any investor. Is it surprising, then, that foreign investment continues to decline?"

"The past political season ended with a veto which I imposed on amendments to the Privatization Act. My veto was upheld by the National Assembly, but still, such lobbyist legislation erodes whatever is left of the public's confidence in Parliament. Bulgaria is governed more via television than via institutions. Media-fuelled chicanery overshadows the fundamental problems of society: injustice, poverty, the demographic crisis and lawlessness."

Radev vowed that, as President, he will work hard to defend Bulgarian democracy. "In dialogue and cooperation with you, I will work to give this country new prospects of development." LI/VE
//