site.btaMedia Review: May 7

On Tuesday, the news media highlight the situation before the June 9 parliamentary and European elections in Bulgaria. The May 8 presidential and parliamentary elections in the Republic of North Macedonia also receive prominence.

DOMESTIC SCENE AHEAD OF JUNE 9 ELECTIONS

The Bulgarian National Television (BNT) had a panel of analysts making forecasts for the upcoming elections. Sova Harris sociologist Vassil Tonchev said parties are down to their hard core of supporters. Continue the Change, which raised hopes in the previous elections, may see a decrease in support. In general, the parliamentary parties will lose votes to the extraparliamentary ones because voters will seek a change. Political analyst Stoycho Stoychev said that since smaller parties tend to support a majority formed by the larger ones, the smaller parties are unlikely to jeopardize the country's Euro-Atlantic orientation, regardless of their rhetoric.

On Nova TV, journalist Emilia Milcheva and political analyst and PR expert Nidal Algafari commented on some of the parties' nominees for the parliamentary and the European elections. Talking about the Movement for Rights and Freedoms' (MRF) list of candidates for the European Parliament, Milcheva said MEP Elena Yoncheva (S&D/Bulgarian Socialist Party) is in the last, fifth place, while MRF Chairman Dzhevdet Chakarov tops the list. The party has five MEPs now. Putting Yoncheva at the bottom means she must win preference votes to be elected. The journalist presumes that it is up to the other MRF Chairman, Delyan Peevski, to decide whether Yoncheva will move upwards. Algafari said the MRF had derived the maximum benefits from Yoncheva's nomination, who "is not the best option as an MEP". She has boosted the MRF's image, and it is yet to be seen what she will get in return.

Interviewed by 24 Chasa, Nikola Minchev, who tops the CC-DB list for the European elections, says that given the increasingly ugly recriminations between Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and GERB-UDF, it is difficult to see them return to the negotiating table after the parliamentary elections. Asked about possible configurations in the next parliament, Minchev says GERB and the MRF acted well in unison in the present National Assembly; the question is whether they will form a majority with There Is Such a People (TISP) in the next one, meaning that CC-DB will be in opposition. He stresses that resurrecting the joint governance by CC-DB and GERB-UDF - without the MRF's active participation in any matters - seems a tall task at the moment. He questions personnel changes in which CC-DB nominees were replaced as soon as the caretaker cabinet took office, including State Agency for National Security deputy chair Petar Petrov and deputy interior minister Kiril Tsenkin, but says CC-DB does not rule out future talks with GERB on these grounds. In contrast, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said the political act of voting down Parliament leader Rosen Zhelyazkov on a motion by CC-DB had destroyed all bridges. Minchev himself was ousted as Parliament chair by GERB-UDF, TISP, the MRF and Vazrazhdane in June 2022.

Mediapool.bg carries former prime minister Nikolay Denkov's interview with Spain's El Periodico, in which he comments on the danger of Bulgaria's growing geopolitical importance to Russia. He says Bulgaria's importance to the Kremlin and the EU has increased significantly as gas supply contracts to Europe via Ukraine expire at the year's end. "If you look at the map of Europe, gas, wherever it comes from, must be transported through Bulgaria (via the Bulgarian section of TurkStream)." Denkov says the interest of other countries to control the government in Sofia is growing. Answering a question by journalist Marc Marginedas about disinformation, Denkov says it is not happening only in Bulgaria, and despite the great experience of the EU and the US in dealing with disinformation, it is not easy to put an end to it. "Moreover, there are two openly pro-Russian parties in Bulgaria and we cannot adopt anti-democratic practices," he says. He also comments on the falling-out in the until recently ruling informal coalition of CC-DB and GERB-UDF, saying that GERB was largely controlled by MRF Chairman Delyan Peevski, who was sanctioned by the US and the UK for involvement in corruption. "Peevski should be excluded from any negotiations. Whether we will have the strength to do so depends on Bulgarian voters."

ON THE EVE OF NORTH MACEDONIA'S ELECTIONS

In Trud, long-time correspondent in Skopje Kostadin Filipov analyses the situation in North Macedonia on the eve of the May 8 presidential and parliamentary elections. Focusing on the contenders in the presidential race, incumbent Stevo Pendarovski backed by the ruling Social Democratic Union (SDSM) and Gordana Siljanovska nominated by VMRO-DPMNE, the journalist says it would be good to see Siljanovska as the next president, not least because this would give Pendarovski time to rethink his conduct and realize how many red lines he had crossed without any provocation. His statement that "Bulgaria is, unfortunately, an EU member" is enough reason to doubt his credibility as a weathered politician. The journalist asks how Pendarovski will seek Bulgaria's support for North Macedonia's EU accession if he wins a second five-year term. Or perhaps he will "lobby and seek some imaginary political factors and mysterious unnamed politicians of European calibre to change the EU negotiating framework", which is his rival's stated intention. Filipov also notes that the presidential candidates who failed to make it to the second round called on people to vote without canvassing for either candidate.

bTV has interviewed Stevo Pendarovski, asking him if a victory for Siljanovska would mean non-inclusion of Bulgarians in the Macedonian constitution and halting North Macedonia's progress towards EU accession. He said this would be certainly the case. In his view, the Bulgarian political elite and VMRO-DPMNE have been like brothers in ideology in the last three years. "Each negative statement from Bulgaria about us as Macedonians who speak the Macedonian language was seen by the main opposition party as proof that we could only enter Europe as Bulgarians, which is an absolute lie. This kind of extreme rhetoric, which, of course, did not come from all Bulgarian politicians but only from some of them, was welcome here because in the ranks of the opposition, especially in the largest opposition party, it was a substitute for a political programme. They have absolutely no plan. (…) No Plan A, no Plan B, on the road to Europe. They don't want to go to Europe," Pendarovski said.

HOLIDAY TRAVEL

Rumen Draganov, head of the Institute of Analysis and Assessment in Tourism, told Nova TV that 1 million Bulgarians travelled during the May Day/Easter holidays; of them, 830,000 travelled domestically and 170,000 travelled abroad. Between May 4 and 7, 72,000 foreigners visited Bulgaria. The Institute expects a 7% increase in tourist numbers (150,000 more people) at the Black Sea coast this year.

Alexander Alexandrov, a hotel manager in the Sunny Beach resort, told Nova TV the occupancy rate over the early May holidays was 98%. Romanian guests predominated for Easter. Guests have been booking longer stays at the hotel this year after a fall in tourist numbers on several markets in recent years. British and Polish guests are staying longer now.

SOCIAL POLICY

Trud cites National Revenue Agency data showing that more than 104,000 people have decided against drawing pensions from universal pension funds in addition to their state pension since 2016 when this option was introduced. This trend peaked in 2021 when 32,500 people opted out of universal pension funds. In 2023, they numbered 9,500. At this point, if one receives a second pension from a universal pension fund, their state pension is reduced because part of the social insurance contributions went into the private fund. The reduction is about 11% for state pensions granted in 2024 to people with unbroken contributory records since 2002. In 2031, the reduction will top 15%, and in 2036 it will reach 19%.

EX-MINISTER ON FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

Former agriculture and food minister Kiril Vatev talked to the Bulgarian National Radio about food sovereignty and why he was replaced in the caretaker cabinet. This country has very fertile land and amazing producers, who do not go to protests or apply for subsidies; they are in the market and are expanding, Vatev said. If imports are halted by some crisis, Bulgaria will see famine in three months. In his view, food independence should be a national priority: "We must not import 80% of fruits and vegetables. Domestic production has an enormous potential but it is not being developed. It is subsidies, not products, that are of interest." Regarding his dismissal, Vatev said he had set one condition for staying in the caretaker cabinet, but Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev told him it could not be done, which led to Vatev's replacement by Georgi Tahov. The former minister did not specify what that condition was.

ARMED FORCES

Interviewed by Nova TV on Monday, formed defence minister Todor Tagarev said the armed forces are short of nearly 9,000 personnel. There are 43,000 personnel, active and reservists, but more than 8,500 servicepersons exist on paper only. He attributed the personnel shortage to disinformation campaigns against national security in general and defence in particular, which led to a 35% drop in applicants to the National Military University compared to 2022.

HEALTH CARE

Interviewed on Nova TV, Dr Tsveteslava Galabova said psychiatry in Bulgaria is the backyard of medicine and suggested that psychiatric hospitals close down. If things continue the way they have been in the last 30 years, it will be better to know there are no such hospitals and the State is not interested in the mentally ill. Psychiatry is the only speciality in which clinical pathways are non-existent; patients are treated as former people, said Galabova.

DRUG TRAFFICKING

Stefan Bakalov, head of the Customs Agency's Combating Drug Trafficking Department, discussed drug trafficking across Bulgaria on BNT. About 1,900 tonnes of cocaine are seized per year and nearly 1,000 tonnes are on the market. Of these, about 350 t are in Europe and about 200-220 kg are used in Bulgaria. As to heroin, although large amounts are seized in Bulgaria, there has been a decline in production, consumption and trafficking. Still, heroin trafficking continues and one of the routes runs across this country.

CULTURE

Bulgarian violinist Vasko Vassilev talks in Trud about his recent concerts in Japan, Poland and Spain, his meetings with royalty and celebrities, and his November tour, Vasko & the Violin Tour, of 18 Bulgarian towns over three weeks, starting in Sofia on November 5.