site.btaMedia Review: July 16

PROPOSAL FOR SECOND CABINET MANDATE AND OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

The Monday proposal of Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) to the President: to give them time so they can try to secure a majority in Parliament to push through a package of anti-corruption legislation, before he gives them a mandate to try to form a government, is a leading topic in the Tuesday news media but the national print papers have chosen other issues for their front pages.

24 Chasa leads with new ideas for a system to replace the tests and grading system at final exams after the 7th grade. After seventh grade, Bulgarian students can change their school based on these tests, which are found to be very stressful by students and parents.

Duma has a front-page story about insurers refusing the pay damages to diligent payers of third-party liability insurance. The paper quotes the Active Consumers watchdog as saying that the damages paid a much below the actual damage caused.

Telegraf reports on its front page the results of an analysis of prices of 10 staple foods across the country, which found that white brined cheese is cheapest in Dobrich and white beans in Yambol.

The front-page story in Trud is about a cash prize that the National Revenue Agency (NRA) offers to anyone who provides information about tax evasion and help the tax authorities collect more revenues. The proposal is about to be made by the Finance Ministry.

The paper does have the CC-DB proposal on its front page as well, though. It says in the headline that “Radev Sent CC-DB to Secure a Majority”. According to the subheading, the President reminded CC-DB floor leader Nikolay Denkov that Article 99 of the Constitution [for which the procedure is ongoing] is about the formation of a government and not about a legislative agenda of Parliament.

Trud also runs a comment by constitutional court professor Plamen Kirov, who says that the CC-DB idea is an instance of “legal nihilism”.”CC-DB are deeply mistaken because they don’t understand the essence of the parliamentary form of government. Every time a parliament is formed through direct elections, the first question is about forming a government to get the support of a parliamentary majority. […] In other words, the legislative programme is determined by the government and is backed by the majority that has elected the government. What we are offered now is the exact opposite,” he told Trud.

The headline in Mediapool.bg says that “CC-DB asked a 3-month delay of the second mandate from the President so they can push through anti-corruption changes”. According to this e-zine, “the President showed no enthusiasm for this idea and urged them to secure a majority for a government instead.” 

The headline in Dnevnik.bg is “CC-DB: Anti-corruption Majority or We Return the Mandate”. It says that CC-DB wants to find an anti-corruption majority of 160 MPs in the 240-seat legislature as a condition for trying to form a government. The test that will show whether this majority exists will be a declaration they proposed with seven legislative measures that will be submitted to Parliament later this week. If they fail to form such a majority, they will take and then return the government mandate unfulfilled. If, however, the declaration shows that there is such majority, they will expect to get a three-month postponement of the mandate so that the legislative package can be pushed through in Parliament. The head of State did not respond well to the idea and said that the topmost task of CC-DB now is to secure a majority to back its cabinet proposal and take timely and operational action for resolving the political crisis. He also told them that he would present the mandate to CC-DB when the positions of the key groups in Parliament are clear.

In the morning programme of bTV Tuesday, CC-DB floor leader and former Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov Tuesday described as "slightly hasty" the political forces' reactions to the CC-DB proposal. "They saw what the proposal is about last night for the first time," Denkov commented. "These reactions are slightly hasty, with the exception of that of Delyan Peevski's Movement for Rights and Freedoms where they clearly do not want a change. Peevski wants everything to remain the same," Denkov said. CC-DB expects a majority of 160 MPs and over when the declaration is put to the vote in Parliament, the former Prime Minister added.

Here is the headline in Capital.bg: “CC-DB ask for time to vote anti-corruption bills before they propose cabinet”. According to the paper, Radev’s response was that they need to focus on forming a government and not on Parliament’s legislative agenda. 

Duma writes in a 3rd page headline, “CC-DB Asks Radev to Postpone Handing of Cabinet Mandate, He Refused”. The paper also has a story about how the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) reacted to the proposal, and says that acting leader Atanas Zafirov said they are ready to consider the CC-DB proposal but would not accept any pre-set conditions or restrictions. 

In a front-page headline, 24 Chasa says that “Radev Gets on Aircraft while CC-DB Come Up with Brazen Plan for Ending Crisis”. Inside the paper, this story splits in two: one about President Rumen Radev flying in a Pilatus aircraft on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the first Pilatus in the Bulgarian Air Force, and another one about CC-DB “asking the President time so they can put together a majority of counter-corruption fighters”. According to the story, the President was skeptical that it is possible to push the Constitution to the limit in this way. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) said “no” to the CC-DB offer right away.

The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) had two interviews with analysts on the CC-DB plan. According to Dr Orlin Kolev, a constitutional law professor, CC-DB need to have presented solid arguments before the President for postponing the second mandate. “The solid arguments should be to assure the President that if he choses not to hand the mandate immediately, CC-DB will really work to accomplish what they said they would,” he said. This practice is novel in Bulgaria but as is well known, the Constitution does not set a deadline for the handing of the second exploratory mandate, Dr Kolev argued.

Political analyst Alexander Marinov told BNR that there won’t be a government on the second mandate – and on the third as well, and this country is headed to snap elections. He said, “Postponing the handing of the second mandate for forming a government is a very exotic idea even by the high Bulgarian standards for ‘exotic’ in politics. [...] I believe the President drew their attention to the fact that the room the Constitution and more specifically Art. 99 give him for for action is limited. Asking him to give them a 3-month postponement is totally different.” Marinov believes that CC-DB appear to be preparing for yet another election campaign rather than putting forward a realistic plan with steps. “We all know the distribution of powers and the relations in Parliament now. To talk of securing a majority is unrealistic,” he commented.

The CC-DB proposal was commented on Bulgarian National Television (BNT) by political analysts Nidal Algafari, Strahil Deliiski and Lyudmil Iliev. Iliev said, “The proposal seems to me quite unfortunate. I do not see a political force in Parliament that would follow the ideas they have presented. One gets the impression that the Right wing wants someone to implement the entire programme which they have set themselves and which they failed to implement in the previous government, without making any commitment. There is no political force that would find this acceptable and I do not see how they will be able to get it through Parliament." Deliiski said, “As for what we saw yesterday, I understand the move, but CC-DB were put in a very awkward situation. On the night of the election, they said they were going to be the opposition, with the idea that they would not get a mandate. It was a very straightforward political declaration. At some point, by virtue of circumstances, they ended up getting a mandate where, in order to look like a serious political force, they had to state their idea of a power configuration. A third way had to be found where they would neither be in opposition nor propose a government." Algafari said, “From the point of view of us, Bulgarian people, they should have immediately said, ‘There is no need to hand us the mandate, consider it declined. From their own point of view, however, what they did was logical because this is an election campaign that they are launching.”

Also on BNT, CC-DB’s Kristina Petkova said, “We are not asking too much of the head of State. We want to see if there is readiness among the deputies in the 50th National Assembly for reforms: not declarative support, but real action.” 

Algafari was also on Nova TV, together with Mediapool.bg editor-in-chief Stoyana Georgieva. Georgieva said that this Parliament is idling and that it has been clear from the start that this Parliament can’t form a government – of which GERB leader Boyko Borissov was aware when he proposed a Cabinet and failed.

FIRES 

Duma reports that the parliamentary group of the Socialists has moved for a hearing of the caretaker Prime Minister, the Interior Minister and the Agriculture Minister on the measures that are being taken to control the fires across the country and the options for supporting those who have been harmed by the fires. BSP floor leader Borislav Gutsanov is quoted as saying that Parliament, in dialogue with the executive power branch, must map out measures for dealing with the aftermath of fires and helping those who suffered damage. Parliament is about to consider a draft budget update submitgted by the caretaker Cabinet and now is the right time to plan the necessary funding, he argued. BSP propose that the hearing be held on July 17. 

This paper also has a front-page op-ed by Iva Mihaylova where she makes a parallel between the real fires across the country and “the political fire” where the country seems to be headed to snap elections.

ECONOMY

Duma writes that Bulgaria is suffocating amid solar panels. The boom in the construction of photovoltaic plants continues in Bulgaria and thousands of hectares of arable land disappear, says the paper. 

Telegraf says that some 200 Bulgarians have chosen to purchase homes in Serbia, just across the border with Bulgaria, because they are three times cheaper than in Bulgaria. Bulgarian home buyers are also attracted by the low crime rates there.

Trud has a story about declining inflation (which remains high despite the decline). Prices in restaurants and hotels have gone up 5% in June, while those of foods and alcoholic drinks are down. 

MRF RIFT AND MORE POLITICS

An ongoing rift in the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with two clear factions emerging: on the one side the MPs loyal to one of the two party leaders, Delyan Peevski, and on the other the group around Honorary Chair Ahmed Dogan, remains a central issue in the Bulgarian news media. 

A headline in mediapool.bg says that Delyan Peevski threatened to dig up mud against what he called Dogan’s “three feudal lords”. Here is how the story goes: “The division in the MRF is now irreversible. Hardly anyone imagines that there can be a return to ‘unity’ after the party's honorary chairman Ahmed Dogan demanded the resignation of chairman Delyan Peevski and his close MPs. From now on it is a matter of time, political calculations and machinations for the plot to reach the ending. For about a week, the majority of the MRF parliamentary group found itself on the side of Dogan, who is supported by most of the local structures and authentic voters of the Movement. But given that MRF is not merely a party, but a business conglomerate, the denouement may look different ways. Peevski is obviously betting on a campaign to discredit “the derebey”, or "feudal lords", as he called the politicians loyal to Dogan, some of whom are from the MRF old guard. Sunday's participation of MRF Deputy Chairman Stanislav Anastasov in Lora Krumova's programme on Nova TV gives grounds to believe that Peevski is about to turn the mud-slinging machine up a notch, and most likely to activate "institutional" pressure against his opponents.”

Capital.bg has an interview with constitutional law professor Natalia Kisselova about what can be expected to happen in MRF. She said that MRF “will go to whoever controls the Central Council and the National Conference. The battle is for the MRF trademark, she argued. She explained, “There are two bodies that could make personnel changes in the MRF leadership: the National Conference, which is the supreme body, and the Central Council, which acts between two national conferences. Whoever has control over these two bodies, or at least control over the conference, will determine the future of the party. We don't know at the moment if there has been a Central Council meeting recently. These activities are not fully open to the public. It is quite possible that Delyan Peevski has already taken action to make changes in the register of political parties and has requested that Dzhevdet Chakarov be deleted as chairman - as was done with Korneliya Ninova in the Bulgarian Socialist Party. If no such request has been made, whoever manages to get a majority first in the Central Council and then in the National Conference will be able to take over the leadership of the movement", said Kiselova.

In a BNT interview, MRF deputy floor leader Halil Letifov insists that “MRF will find energy to go to the next snap elections united and solid”. “I hope unity will prevail,” he said.

***

24 Chasa says that BSP is in a cul-de-sac over a disputed leadership. It is not clear who signs the candidates tickets for the new elections and the documents to claim the state subsidy, the author says. Even though Korneliya Ninova has come down as leader and was stricken off the party register, and Atanas Zafirov was elected acting leader, Ninova continues to represent the party.

THE WORLD

Dnevnik.bg writes that “between Moscow, Beijing and Washington: an isolated Orban is looking for his new place in the world”.

Duma writes in a headline that “the EU sends Orban to the defendant’s bench” over his visits to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing. The subheading says that the European Commission has the right to sue Hungary in the EU Court of Justice.

It also reproduces a Politico story titled “NATO’s bad boys: Turkey and Hungary play their own game”. Turkey and Hungary are preparing for a Trump presidency and charting their own course in the alliance, says the story.

The assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump is on the international pages of all papers and online publications. In a front-page story, Telegraf writes that a fearless Trump went for the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Trud writes that Secret Service blamed the assassination attempt on the police.

A commentary in Trud by Kalina Androlova says that “the aggression of Democrats predictably resulted in aggression among the electorate”.

Nova TV reports about J. D. Vance, the newly announced running mate of Donald J. Trump.