site.btaMedia Review: July 11

POLITICS - MRF - PEEVSKI vs. DOGAN - RIFT

The rift between Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) Chairman Delyan Peevski and the party’s long-time leader and Honorary Chairman Ahmed Dogan is covered extensively by the media after Dogan issued a statement late on Wednesday, calling for Peevski's resignation, as well as five other high-ranking MRF members.

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Mediapool’s headline reads “The Beginning of the End: Ahmed Dogan Demanded Delyan Peevski’s Resignation”. The war between the MRF Honorary Chairman and the party's co-chairman Delyan Peevski erupted with new force on Wednesday evening. MRF Honorary Chairman Ahmed Dogan made his long-awaited address in which he directly calls for Peevski's resignation. Dogan reasoned that thuggish approaches were already being used in the party, and that there is an attempted party coup. He directly wrote that "No one can steal or appropriate the MRF. Our organisation is not a sole proprietorship".

Later Peevski responded with similar phrases - "No one can stop the new beginning" and added that he would not give up because he was not a traitor and would not betray the trust of the people. He even described the situation as - "reminiscences of times gone by, in which groups of people, structures and personalities were wiped out "from above" with one phone call or one fax.

"The assessments that have been given are untenable, and the demand for resignations are deprived of any form of enforcement of MRF's rules of procedure, which are so much talked about these days," Peevski said.

He also reflects on what the requested resignation will lead to, he claims that the MRF is at its peak, relegated as the second political party and directly asks - "whose will is it that wants to interrupt this success".

Peevski leaves a curious postscript at the end of his answer - "Ahmed Dogan and I know each other too well and we both know what the truth is. History will show that I was right. No one can stop the New Beginning".

Ahmed Dogan's address was circulated by the press centre of the MRF's MPs who followed his order to vote "against" the failed GERB draft cabinet. Dogan's message has not yet been published on the party's website, which is controlled by Peevski, nor on his personal Facebook profile. Instead, Peevski's response was instantly published on the official MRF website.

“Dogan Wants Peevski’s and Five Other High-ranking MRF Members’ Resignations,” the Bulgarian National Radio’s headline reads. The other five are deputy chairmen Halil Letifov and Stanislav Anastassov, deputy floor leaders Hamid Hamid and Erten Anisova, and MRF Central Operational Bureau member Radoslav Revanski. 

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Capital: Two weeks after Delyan Peevski's large-scale purge in the MRF, which caused a crisis in the party, the long-awaited decision of the movement's Honorary Chairman Ahmed Dogan on how to resolve it has finally come.

It is radical and was largely foreseen. In a statement to the party's members and sympathizers, Dogan formally demanded the resignation of MRF Co-Chairman Delyan Peevski and five other senior party functionaries and deputies close to him.

Shortly after Dogan's address was circulated, Peevski responded through the party press centre that he "will not give up", "will not betray the trust of the people" and continues with his team with the implementation of the "new beginning".

Thus, the rift between DPS founder Dogan and its current Co-Chairman Peevski threatens to grow into a real war, the outcome of which is difficult to predict. For Peevski controls the party apparatus and has the financial resources to secure its support, while Dogan's advantage is the party's members and supporters.

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“Ahmed Dogan Wants Calls for Resignations of Delyan Peevski and Five Others from MRF,” reads Trud’s headline; “Delyan Peevski Will Not Resign,” the headline of 24 Chasa says.

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Dnevnik contributes with a signed commentary under the headline “If a Full-scale War Unfolds within MRF, the Judiciary Will Be at Stake”. As many expected, Ahmed Dogan abruptly ended Peevski's career in politics with a couple of sentences. The gauntlet has been thrown down, but this does not mean that a gentlemanly Delyan Peevski will admit mistakes and retreat into oblivion. The stakes for him are very high - it is a question of his political and economic survival, which is possible only if he continues to be a factor in Bulgarian political life, that is, if he holds a public office.

Developments are expected in the next day, while Peevski is unlikely to back down. The whole state was dragged in his war with Tsvetan Vassilev (the owner of the failed Corporate Commercial Bank, who was in a conflict with Peevski some years ago). If a full-scale war unfolds in the MRF, it will drag the party down, but there could also be turmoil in all systems across the board. This would be a war between classical oligarchs with huge resources.

At the moment the battle is for the (MRF) structures, because at some point the party's National Conference will have to convene, where fate of Peevski or Dogan will be decided, and this is done through the delegates and the influence the two warring camps will have on them. Another sign of the balance of power within MRF will be how their parliamentary group acts - whether there will be more MPs who will move from Peevski's camp to Dogan's and whether they will reverse the majority currently held by Peevski. But even if Peevski holds the group, his fate will be decided within the party.

The most problematic point is that both Dogan and Ramdan Atalay (who was expelled from the MRF parliamentary group recently) talk about Peevski using the prosecution service, the Interior Ministry and institutions to exert pressure on MRF members.

Not that this is news and not that it is not being done or has not been done by others, including the MRF itself before Peevski. The problem is that there has been no institutional response - neither from the prosecutors in the Supreme Judicial Council, from the prosecution  service itself, nor from professional organisations. In practice, politicians claim that the prosecuting magistracy is being taken over by oligarchic interests, in whose favour it is working, and there is no reaction. The prosecutor's office is behaving like a courtesan who has left the ones with the money to fight for her attention. It would be nice if the acting Prosecutor General (Borislav Sarafov) came out of summer holiday mode and said what he thinks about this. At the very least, he should defend the honour of the profession, if any such is left.

It would also be interesting to see how far the war in the Judiciary will stretch. We have seen how (former prosecutor general) Ivan Geshev was removed in mere days following some booing from parliament. Whether the "most vetted man in the state" will end up having problems with the prosecution depends on the balances in the other branches of power. Unfortunately, because this will be yet another proof that there is no independent judiciary. But even a little justice is preferable to none at all.

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bTV quotes Peevski as saying in Parliament on Thursday that "Certain people want to destroy the MRF. What I've read, I can't believe the Honorary Chairman is doing it. I have always been for unification and today I am for unification. Whoever divides his party is doing so at their own expense," Peevski told journalists. "I am not at war with anyone, I want to work for the people. Other people are currently fighting wars, I am not fighting wars," he added. The MRF’s parliamentary group expelled 17 MPs Thursday, leaving it the fourth largest political force in Parliament. Bulgarian National TV and NOVA TV also cover the conflict within the MRF. "If they take away his ability to be party Chairman, that is not toppling. He can remain a member of the MRF. When a person is internally convinced that he wants to work and live with the party, he can remain a member. The fact that someone sees themselves as great and forgets that he has faults shows that he is not living with the ideas of this party," Atalay said.

For his part, the MRF's other Co-Chairman, Dzhevdet Chakarov, was adamant that the party's collective bodies will decide whether Peevski will be expelled.  

ECONOMY 

Capital: Yet another potential buyers of Vivacom and Nova TV submit their bids. The deadline for bidders for United Group's business is July 12. Among those interested are two Arab telecoms, and for individual assets there is interest by funds such as Apollo, Providence, Warburg Pincus. This deal is important for Bulgaria because it impacts national security and carries media influence. On July 12 it will become clear which companies have submitted an offer to buy the largest media and telecommunications group in Bulgaria - the operator Vivacom and Nova TV, and more recently Bulsatcom. Since 2020, the telecom and TV network are owned by the Balkan holding United Group, in which the majority shareholder is the London-based fund BC Partners. Its founder, Serbian Dragan Solak, also holds a significant stake of around 40% in United. The financial investor is now looking for a buyer of all or parts of United. The deal is huge - the valuation of the business is EUR 8 billion and the Bulgarian companies bring in about BGN 1.6 billion (around EUR 800 million) in annual revenue. Global media such as Reuters and Bloomberg have been reporting on a potential sale for months.

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24 Chasa: The average monthly pension in Bulgaria has reached BGN 834 in July after pensions were updated by 11%. The average pension for men is BGN 991, while that of women is BGN 727.

In the capital, the average pension is the highest in the country - BGN 1,037 , for men it is BGN 1,235 and for women - BGN 909.

The lowest average pension is in the southeastern region of Kurdzhali - BGN 656.

Reported pension expenditure last year was over BGN 19 billion - BGN 45 million less than the amount set in the budget, but compared to 2022, nearly BGN 3.5 billion more was paid for pensions last year.

The relative share of pension spending has reached 10.4% of GDP, which is 1.1 percentage points compared to 2022. 

According to the National Social Insurance Institute, the number of pensioners is growing. This month they exceeded 2,047,000, while at the end of last year they were 2,037,000, which in turn is 7,000 more than at the end of 2022, national radio reports.

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Standard: As the legislation on the introduction of the euro can be adopted by the end of the summer, there is no reason for this country's accession to the euro area not to happen as soon as possible, including in 2025, it transpires from an interview given by Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev to the Ikonomika [Economics] magazine. 

"Bulgaria will hardly achieve the economic development and standard of living in the euro area if it remains outside it on the outskirts of the European Union. So far 20 countries have joined the eurozone and seven, including Bulgaria, are outside it. What is the logic of wanting to be last in this process as well?", Radev asks, adding that he is convinced that joining the euro area will accelerate the convergence processes with all the positive effects for the economy and the living standards of Bulgarians.