On every topic, I think the government can suffer losses, said sociologist Dobromir Zhivkov in response to the question on which topics the government can suffer losses.
"Because the expectations are so huge and people imagine that in each of the spheres - finance, economy, healthcare, education, this model of serious corruption suspicions, control of institutions is expected to change. And this change will naturally lead to prosperity," Zhivkov from "Market Links" said in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio.
The agency's latest survey has a finding, he said.
To what extent do Bulgarian citizens believe that the cabinet urgently needs to take out the next loan or first optimize state spending and only then move on to credit?
"About 10-12%, below 15%, support for a loan compared to over 70% - to have reforms and change. Bulgarian society is ready and expects a serious reform commitment. And the criticism of this administration is that we do not see this being done as a request. But this political responsibility must be assumed, reforms must be made. And I think that this narrative from the last 10 years is vital, that if corruption is limited, then there will be enough funds left to be redirected. Anti-corruption and reforms are part of what society expects as an extreme policy from this government", commented Dobromir Zhivkov. And regarding the presidential elections, he said that it is early or when there are at least some candidates.
Regarding the agenda of society, he explained that it changed 2-3 years ago and smoothly, "because the examples of studies 5, 6, 10 years ago, before the current moment, indicated more sensitivity to social problems related to income".
"Regarding prices, society has the feeling that this seems to come as a narrative from the ruling party and the government. And it turns out that this is currently failing to change what society puts as a priority, namely the normalization of the administration of justice and Bulgarian institutions. 47% point to corruption as a problem, and under 20% point to prices," Zhivkov pointed out.
And he admitted that he is convinced that Rumen Radev is largely the main factor that shapes trust in the cabinet:
"Because we have not had such great trust so far. And this is the result of the capital that Radev has accumulated in recent years, in the campaign and the election result. After all, the main reason for such a phenomenon - the high trust in the cabinet, is due to the political leader and Prime Minister Rumen Radev. We have not seen such a phenomenon for 35 - 40 years. This is also an expression of the desire and hope of Bulgarian citizens for real change and a change in the model - normalization. In this severe fragmentation, a unifying figure is obviously being sought, and a large part of society finds it in Radev, and probably a strategic weakness, because it depends only on one center, distributing this influence to people, policies and spheres, can play a bad joke."
And also the division of the PP – DB coalition.
Dobromir Zhivkov warned that "the main risk here is from authoritarian tendencies, if they develop further, because we cannot accept this in the National Assembly with a restriction on the possibility of a deputy, these are not good signs at all":
"And the high credit of trust in a person cannot but affect the risk of soft authoritarianism."
In "Nedelya 150" he commented on "the illegal city" in Varna:
"The illegal city is a clear symptom of the functional insufficiency of Bulgarian institutions, whether at the national or local level, it is strongly expressed and the conquest by various networks and the subordination of private networks more than to the public interest."