The first 100 days of the “Radev“ cabinet are marked by high expectations that the ruling party has created itself, but also by a lack of sufficiently courageous actions. This was stated on bTV by former Prime Minister and member of the BSP Executive Bureau Sergey Stanishev.
According to him, the government has received strong political support and therefore the public expects quick results.
“Progressive Bulgaria“ is facing the expectations it has created itself. People expect quick results, which is difficult to achieve“, commented Stanishev.
As the first serious test before the cabinet, he pointed to the 2026 budget, adopted with a significant delay. According to Stanishev, the positive thing is that the government has presented the real financial situation of the state, but there was a lack of courage to limit the budget deficit.
“We have started to get used to the fact that a 3% deficit is OK. But this is new debt. Every year 3% of new debt of GDP that must be serviced“, he said.
Stanishev expects the real deficit for this year to be lower than the set 5.7%. According to him, the reason is the large volume of capital expenditures, for which there is limited time left for implementation.
He defined the budget for next year as a much more serious test for the cabinet. According to him, then it will become clear whether the government is capable of implementing reforms and creating conditions for economic growth.
Stanishev warned that income growth cannot be financed permanently through new debt. At the same time, according to him, the state must maintain an active social policy and direct support to the people who need it most - the elderly, young people and families.
“It's all a matter of balance and, of course, priorities“, the former prime minister emphasized.
According to him, in recent years politicians have bought public peace through uncovered expenses and increasing the state's liabilities.
“In order to buy people's patience, they began to boldly distribute uncovered gifts to categories of people who are potential voters. This is done at the expense of debt“, Stanishev commented.
He also pointed to the upcoming presidential elections as an important political test. Stanishev recalled that the BSP was the first to support the candidacy of Iliana Yotova, and the National Council of the party subsequently gave its unanimous support for her.
It is still not clear who the vice-presidential candidate will be. Stanishev said that this is Yotova's decision herself and expressed confidence that she will make a “good choice“.
Regarding the expected candidacy of Andrey Gyurov, who may be nominated by the right-wing parties, Stanishev said that if he joins the race, he has been actively campaigning for months, especially on social networks.
According to him, however, the attempt to pit presidential candidates against each other on the basis of “authentic Euro-Atlanticism“ will not be enough to gain public trust.
Stanishev emphasized that Iliana Yotova has been an MEP for more than one term and knows the work of the European Union well.
“Bulgaria must defend its own interests“, he stated.
According to Stanishev, Bulgarian society is sensitive to the issues of peace and diplomatic conflict resolution. He expects Yotova, if elected president, to place emphasis on diplomacy and the search for political solutions.
Stanishev also identified the constant political confrontation in the country as a serious problem.
According to him, Bulgaria suffers from “exhausting, constant confrontation about everything and everyone“, often accompanied by a sharp tone and a lack of meaningful debate.
According to him, overcoming this division should be among the tasks of the future president.