"We must have the attitude that good times do not await us in principle, outside the budget. When we write a budget, I prefer it to be written by pessimists rather than optimists". This was stated to the Bulgarian National Radio by GERB-SDS MP Toma Bikov.
"For a long time, optimists wrote budgets in Bulgaria. The biggest optimist - Assen Vassilev. Money does not grow on trees. Yes, Assen Vassilev is a magician. But illusionists do not actually perform magic tricks, they simply - move the ball from one sleeve to the other. He has a different type of thinking, a different ideological concept. We, unlike him, we are not that good illusionists. As long as we move one ball from one hand to the other, people have seen it. And it cannot continue indefinitely, it just came to us. Vassilev himself comes out and asks "What are you doing" and we cannot answer him. This is complete absurdity. Someone must put an end to this absurdity. I think it is our responsibility and duty. I hope that we have this power and I think we should do it, but we are not getting help from anywhere", he commented.
"We see where the car is going at breakneck speed and we cannot press the brake", Bikov stated and emphasized that everyone is aware of the situation.
According to him, the realistic tasks facing a government, regardless of what it is, will be how to manage the crisis.
"This can be done with dialogue, and not by further deepening the gaps between the various public groups", the MP was categorical and emphasized: "We must make decisions beyond emotions".
What would make GERB leave the government, according to Bykov, is the feeling that it cannot do anything.
"We are ready to make compromises, but we are not ready to stay in government for its own sake, just to have ministers", he emphasized.
"We are in a situation in which conversation seems impossible. And a conversation on very important topics. The budget is only an expression of a very serious, even existential crisis for both representative democracy and the entire organization of Bulgarian society, which has obviously blocked", commented the MP from GERB-SDF.
According to him, the draft budget was the result of negotiations within the governing majority. He had found a balance between the 4 formations that support the government, he emphasized, but added:
"However, it turns out that this balance is unacceptable for a large part of those interested in budget policy - both employers and unions. If you ask me, and other colleagues from GERB - we also said that we do not like this budget. The Prime Minister himself said this. This is an indication that greater public support should be sought".
According to him, the problems are much deeper than making a budget.
"One of the reasons I do not like this budget is that it continues the policy of Asen Vassilev. I am categorical that this line of behavior, which consisted of the following - the state cuts spending, must be stopped much more sharply, as far as possible. for development at the expense of social spending and at some point it turns out that we are not investing in the future, but are simply spending the money we collect from business and working people year after year," said Toma Bikov.
The money is starting to run out, he warned. And he explained that the idea of increasing social security contributions by 2% was because we have a pension system that is inadequate to reality. According to him, not a single structural reform has been made in Bulgaria since 1997. And now this has not been possible because the government is composed of 3 parties with the support of a fourth:
"This is not a reformist majority. We do not have such a mandate. The largest party in the majority has 66 members of parliament. This is not a mandate for reforms. This is a mandate for a possible more peaceful government, at best. Unfortunately, it is clear that the government is not all that reassuring, after there are such big protests".
The times of 2019 cannot return, the MP is categorical and specified that the model that operated until then has been exhausted.
"We are in a geopolitical vacuum in which new solutions must be sought".
"This concessions thing - an agreement must be reached. Our highways, for example, are the only ones that are free. Isn't it time for the one who uses a certain service to pay for it, and not for someone else to pay for it", gave an example Bykov. But he said that he did not know who had introduced the amendment for Toto. His personal opinion is that gambling should be banned:
"This is the most successful business in Bulgaria. We produce nothing more than gambling addiction. What does it matter whether Toto - a concession or not, given that even though it is state-owned, we have a 44 billion turnover in gambling addiction".
"We need to calm things down a bit in the National Assembly and run our procedures as they are", expressed his opinion Toma Bykov. For him, one of the problems that came with the budget was that the procedure did not go as it always does:
"I consider it a mistake. I think we need to make very serious efforts to try to reduce the tension in all directions".
According to the MP, there is always an alternative:
"There are several alternatives. One is early parliamentary elections. An obvious alternative is emerging in the person of Rumen Radev, who, by all accounts, will produce his own party. This is an alternative on the surface. I claim that nothing different will happen no matter who governs, because we are in a situation of a vacuum of ideas, and not in Bulgaria, but from the point of view of Western civilization.
In his words, the party system is extremely exhausted.
"I do not think that the arrival of another party and the cancellation of 3 others will produce a model that will replace the currently exhausted economic model. We need to provide much clearer perspectives," commented the GERB MP.
"One of the major tasks of this government was to resolve the political crisis, because we were from election to election. But if we fail to resolve the political crisis, which means introducing and setting new lines that will be unifying for the widest possible circle of people, then at some point we will not be able to answer the question – what are we doing in government. "The other parties should have the same goal," he added.