site.btaMedia Review: April 23

SAVE SOFIA EXITS COALITION WITH CC-DB

The topic that the Save Sofia political formation is leaving the three-party coalition with Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) in the Sofia City Council and has withdrawn its support from Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev dominates Wednesday’s media.

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Mediapool.bg has published an analysis of Tuesday’s decision by the Save Sofia political formation to leave the three-party coalition with Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) in the Sofia City Council and to withdraw its support for Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev. The article recalls the 2023 election campaign, when Terziev and Save Sofia’s Chair Borislav Bonev were "United for Sofia", whereas now they are "Divided for Sofia" – a development that most benefits GERB, the former rulers of Sofia.

Mediapool.bg lays out in detail the motivations and speculations surrounding the events but focuses primarily on what comes next for the city. According to the publication, the Sofia City Council is likely to become even more fragmented, and GERB will once again form the largest group. It is also possible that CC-DB may lose their council chair. Crucial decisions, such as those regarding the city budget or changes to key regulations, will likely become even harder to pass, or will only pass at the cost of serious compromises, which will ultimately harm only the citizens.

Here is what else Mediapool.bg writes: "Save Sofia will likely return to their roots and start documenting every loose tile or botched repair job. Not that they were not doing that before, but it just did not feel right to call out your teammate. This, they probably believe, is how they will counter the negative perceptions from their time in power, since they too are now being asked, "Why aren’t you doing anything?" Fortunately, the city administration has not rushed into launching any major projects. Vassil Terziev will probably have to do a lot more explaining – why something is delayed or why it is not working out. The municipal councillors from CC-DB (especially those from Continue the Change) will need to become significantly more active, as their colleagues from Save Sofia (with a few minor exceptions) used to lead the debates on controversial issues. The bigger picture, however, is that all of this is playing directly into GERB’s hands. The opposition’s plan to divide the ruling majority has been successfully executed. Meanwhile, the mayor and the other political parties around him have just two years to restore the trust of voters. Otherwise, Borissov’s prophecy that "GERB must lose Sofia in order to win it" may come true. And we already know – that is not the best outcome for the capital", the article concludes.

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Speaking on bTV’s morning talk show, Save Sofia Chair Boris Bonev reiterated that the group’s patience with Mayor Vassil Terziev had run out following the appointment of Bogdana Panayotova as Sofia’s new Chief Architect. "The appointment of Panayotova appears to be part of a deal between the Mayor and [MRF – New Beginning leader] Delyan Peevski," Bonev argued. He drew attention to the fact that Panayotova is a former Chief Architect of Haskovo and remarked that this is a region under particularly strong influence from Peevski. "We know which political territory Haskovo belongs to – that of MRF – New Beginning. Either Terziev is deeply impressed by her [Panayotova], or he is dependent on certain influences. On the same day in July 2024 when the former Chief Architect under Yordanka Fandakova, Zdravko Zdravkov, was dismissed, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) sent the case concerning Terziev’s mayoral election back to the first instance court – a case that had dragged on for a year and a half. Knowing who controls the SAC, namely Peevski, the dots connect. Her appointment was the price of a deal in which the court’s ruling on the mayoral election would favour Vassil Terziev," Bonev argued.

He further recalled that Panayotova had acted as construction supervisor on road projects for the State Consolidation Company amounting to BGN 500 million. "We are talking about the scandal with the dams that Kiril Petkov, in his capacity as Minister, exposed. Panayotova was a consultant on that. She was also involved with the Lyutidol–Blagoevgrad road [case] – billions were carried off in sacks. Panayotova was appointed through an extremely manipulated competition for the Chief Architect position. In the six months during which she was acting Chief Architect, she greenlighted projects that even GERB politicians, with all their audacity, did not dare to pursue – construction in the courtyard of the Blue Lion restaurant, new buildings in the Balkanton premises, and a massive structure on the site of a petrol station on Bulgaria boulevard, among others – all within six months. Everyone advised him not to do it, even his own people, yet he still appointed this woman. Why?" Bonev asked.

The Segabg.com and Boulevard Bulgaria news outlets also cover the interview thoroughly.

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Speaking on the morning talk show of Bulgarian National Television, Ilian Pavlov, outgoing Deputy Mayor of Sofia for Transport and member of Save Sofia, said that he had been sabotaged while performing his duties. According to him, Save Sofia had made many compromises in order to fulfil their pre-election promises to the citizens of Sofia, but he shared that, as Deputy Mayor, he had felt "bound hand and foot". "I took part in the election campaign by drafting part of the transport programme – the development of public transport, the parking plan, and so forth. I wrote all of that, and later, as Deputy Mayor, I was expected to implement it. What could be simpler than that? […] I have a director who is clearly sabotaging me, who has not been dismissed – the Director of the Traffic Management and Analysis Directorate," Pavlov stressed (the Director of the Traffic Management and Analysis Directorate is subordinate to the Deputy Mayor for Transport). According to Pavlov, the sabotage against him had manifested in refusals of his subordinates to carry out tasks that he himself had assigned. Pavlov firmly stated that he had no concerns about his work being subjected to review. According to him, he and Mayor Terziev had worked well together up until the point when decisions needed to be made.

PEACE SUMMIT IN LONDON

In an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio ahead of Wednesday’s summit on Ukraine in London, diplomat and former deputy foreign minister Lyubomir Kyuchukov commented that the initiation of genuine negotiations between the warring parties, Russia and Ukraine, is crucial, as experience shows that reaching the stage of negotiations is often no less difficult than conducting the negotiations themselves. "There is now talk of negotiations – that is the new development since the beginning of the year. The war continues, but at present, a parallel track has opened for seeking an end to the conflict – a political and diplomatic one. In other words, there now appears to be an alternative to the escalation of military action, which had been virtually absent for the past three years. Regardless of the ongoing hostilities, the momentum has now shifted to the political field," Kyuchukov stressed. He described the London summit as a new format. "This is a practically new format – bringing together the initiators of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' – France and the United Kingdom – with the United States and Ukraine. It also unites two substantial themes: the negotiations to end the conflict, which are a priority for the United States, and the security commitments to Ukraine after a settlement is reached, which are a priority for France and the United Kingdom. There are two important elements here – an attempt to develop a unified position between Ukraine and its allies regarding the negotiations. The role of France and the United Kingdom is not that of intermediaries between Ukraine and the United States, but rather to support Ukraine in its dialogue with the United States, in order to reach an agreement on the terms of a potential settlement," Kyuchukov added.

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The Trud tabloid daily publishes a detailed analysis on the topic, titled "The Beginning of the End of the War in Ukraine". According to the article, it is possible that the war in Ukraine is entering its final stage, amid growing international pressure for peace negotiations and waning support from the United States for Kyiv. It is becoming increasingly evident that the conflict will end through compromise, rather than through a military victory, Trud writes.

DEATH OF POPE FRANCIS

Following the death of Pope Francis, Dnevnik.bg has published a detailed interview with Prof. Georgi Kapriev, a scholar of Mediaeval and Renaissance philosophy at St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. According to Prof. Kapriev, Pope Francis's conduct was marked by his humble personality and his efforts to foster understanding between the churches. "Pope Francis pointed out the paths that must be taken for innovation and for breathing new life into the Roman Church, but he did not actually take those paths. Now we shall see what the next elected Pope will undertake. Will he continue in the direction set by Francis – clearly identifying the problems, but proceeding hesitantly and with compromises? Or will he boldly commit to this path? Or, conversely, will he take a step back? All of these scenarios are entirely possible. What comes next, whether the tensions we have mentioned will be resolved or deepened, depends on the decision of the conclave, which we await in the coming weeks. The fact that there are 24 candidates for the next Pope suggests that there is no clear favourite, and thus it is impossible to predict the course the Roman Church will take," Professor Kapriev explained.

Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said.

BASIC NEEDS

The 24 Chasa daily publishes a front-page article warning that water supply restrictions may be introduced this summer in settlements along the Black Sea coast if water resources are not used sparingly. According to the analysis, April snowfall has partially replenished some reservoirs, but there is a shortage of water for irrigation. The usable volume of the largest reservoir supplying the Varna and Burgas regions, Kamchiya reservoir, is currently 62 million cubic metres, while an estimated 30 million cubic metres will be needed between June and September, 24 Chasa points out.

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The Trud tabloid daily frontpages an article titled "Our Food is the Most Expensive, Our Wages the Lowest". The article says that salaries in Bulgaria remain the lowest in the European Union, while the prices of rice, fresh milk, sunflower oil, and cucumbers are among the highest compared to those in other EU member states. The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria monitors the cost of the small consumer basket consisting of 20 essential items (19 food products plus petrol) across seven EU countries – Spain, France, Croatia, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania, and Bulgaria. For example, the price of rice in Bulgaria averages EUR 2.70 per kilogramme, the highest among the countries surveyed. In Romania, rice is nearly half the price, at an average of EUR 1.40 per kilogramme. In France, the average price is EUR 2.25, and in Germany, EUR 2.29 per kilogramme. With a minimum wage in Bulgaria, one could purchase 9 small food baskets, whereas in Germany, the same wage would afford 28 baskets.