„We continue the change“ will be a constructive opposition, but with a clear line of criticism and „a spotlight on the dark places“ in the government. This was said in "The Day Begins with Georgi Lyubenov" on BNT by Venko Sabrutev from "We continue the change".
Sabrutev reacted sharply to the suggestion that „We continue the change“ is a party with no longer any need, as was said in the program by Deputy Prime Minister Ivo Hristov.
„This statement is true cynicism. Cynicism that affects 405 thousand Bulgarian citizens who voted for us. We see that this is yet another cynicism in the first week of Radev's rule.“
He also drew parallels with other political figures, stating that the approach to the state has not changed.
„You remember Anton Kutev also saying that the state was theirs. And we can't help but refer to the previous person who thinks that the state is his. This was Delyan Peevski, who was shouting that he would make a state with a capital D. We see no difference in the approach.“
Sabrutev emphasized that the group would be critical, but also constructive.
„We will be a constructive opposition, we will support all good policies, but we will shine the spotlight where it is dark.“
And he continued with criticism of individual ministers and appointments.
„We have an agricultural minister, behind whom you can see? Taki. Let's ask now - are we going to fight the oligarchy with the oligarchy? Let's look at who the Minister of Finance is. For me, this is an absolutely scandalous appointment. Galab Donev. But let's remember, Galab Donev is not a new person. Galab Donev was the person who was Radev's acting prime minister, during whose time the contract with Botas was signed. Botas is the biggest corruption deal ever signed in Bulgaria.“
Sabrutev also criticized the appointment of the Minister of Justice, expressing doubts about the professional profile.
On the topic of the judiciary and the Supreme Judicial Council, Sabrutev stated a categorical position that Bulgaria needs a real judicial reform.
"There must be justice, so that whatever happens as a violation of the law, whether it is by a minister, an MP, or even a magistrate, he must be able to bear his responsibility. The first thing that needs to be done is to stop the possibility of the current Supreme Judicial Council, whose mandate expired years ago, continuing to recruit. We have submitted such a bill to the National Assembly and it must be voted on as quickly as possible. The second thing that needs to be done is to prepare rules for selecting the new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council extremely quickly. And here is the key - whether the ruling majority will prepare rules that protect society from people with scheming in their closets entering the new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council. And last but not least - what are the names that will be nominated. Here, we proposed that the civil sector could also enter.“
Sabrutev expressed concerns about the future budget and deficit, predicting a significant increase in expenses and debt.
„We expect them to submit a budget with a huge deficit and additional debts. And we see that they are looking for a calf under the ox to justify submitting such a budget. They talk about the large deficit that has accumulated, but they forget to talk about the structure of this deficit. Because in fact, this large accumulated deficit in the state at the moment comes from the salaries of the administration. Nearly 40% of this deficit is the salaries of the Ministry of Interior, the National Agency for National Security, the State Agency for National Security and the rest of the administration. And here the question is how will they fight this deficit - by stopping the automatisms, which the society wants, or by taking out loans to pay these high salaries?“
He also added criticism of the election promises about prices.
„During the election campaign, they said that they would reduce prices, which won the trust of the people. And yesterday, Rumen Radev, entering the Council of Ministers, turned the tables. He said that they would not reduce prices, but would look for an opportunity to reduce the rate of increase. And why wasn't this said during the campaign?“
According to him, the fight against inflation should go through incomes.
„The most powerful tool for fighting inflation is raising incomes. This is what the government should do.“