The chairman of the BSP - Sofia Ivan Takov presented a folder with a declaration called "Red Line", which contains the expectations of the Sofia socialists from President Iliana Yotova. This happened during an official meeting of the party's active with the candidates for president and vice president Iliana Yotova and Kiril Valchev in Hall 6 of the National Palace of Culture, organized by the BSP - Sofia. The forum was attended by the chairman of the BSP Krum Zarkov, members of the party's Executive Bureau, as well as heads of party organizations from across the country.
Ivan Takov noted that the declaration of the socialists from Sofia is an expression of trust. "I believe that the principles in it will become part of the meaning of the presidential institution", he said and added: "This campaign has shown that despite everything, Bulgarian socialists have not given up their belief that another Bulgaria is possible. In Sofia, our regional organizations wrote what they expect from the President of Bulgaria. We called it "Red Line". It is the thread that connects us with President Yotova, and the direction in which we want Bulgaria to develop".
The Chairman of BSP - Sofia noted that in this document the three sacred words freedom, justice and solidarity find their concrete meaning.
"Freedom means a state as promised by the Constitution - democratic, legal and, above all, social. Because freedom is inseparable from social justice. A state in which citizens have a real voice, including through referendums. A president who is a corrective to power, without waging fruitless wars with institutions. Who unites without giving up his positions. Justice means healthcare and education, accessible to everyone, regardless of their income and where they live. Fairer taxes, a working economy, fewer inequalities between people and between regions. Solidarity means not leaving behind a single region and a single generation. To put the demographic crisis first, with a national strategy with clear goals. And to think about Bulgarians abroad as well.".
Ivan Takov was categorical that peace is above all this. "Diplomacy before confrontation. Bulgaria as an equal partner with its own voice, which protects the security and interests of its citizens, said the deputy chairman of the BSP. - We know that the president does not govern and that achieving these goals does not depend only on him. But the president has something that is not limited to powers – has the political and moral authority to raise important issues, seek public consensus and be an exponent of these goals before the whole society. Iliana Yotova has the experience and character for this. She is ready to take on this responsibility. We are ready to be by her side.".
Ivan Takov addressed all socialists and citizens with left-wing beliefs and warned them that the election on Sunday is not a formality. "This is a choice of which dreams will have a chance to come true," he said. - But dreams do not come true on their own. They come true when someone takes responsibility to turn them into decisions. This is leadership. Not promises for everything, but a clear direction. A calm and firm voice that does not shout at others, but seeks solutions. A willingness to have that conversation that others avoid".
He called for activity on election day and recalled part of the history of the socialist movement. "In the summer of 1891, a large number of people gathered on Mount Buzludzha to honor the memory of Hadji Dimitar. Among them, unnoticed, were about twenty people, led by Dimitar Blagoev. They gathered secretly because the authorities did not tolerate free associations. They had no money, no power. They only had the conviction that Bulgaria could be freer, more just and more united, he said, and called on all left-wing people to look around. - Look at how many of us there are. People from all over the country, from all generations. We are here because we believe in the same three words - freedom, justice, solidarity. And today, in a world of uncertainty, divisions and hatred, more and more deprivation and suffering, these words are still relevant. And something very important - when we speak with these words, we are heard far beyond our own ranks. That was the case in 2001. That was the case in 2016. That will be the case now".
The chairman of the BSP - Sofia also recalled that those twenty people on Buzludzha did not know what their audacity would lead to. "They had no guarantees that they would be heard. But they understood something that is still valid today – change does not start with the government, but with the people who are ready to take responsibility, said Ivan Takov. - They did not wait for better times to speak up for freedom, justice and solidarity. They spoke up when it was most difficult. They had a dream. A Bulgaria in which work brings dignity and no one is left alone. Politics is the way for dreams not to remain just dreams. It turns hope into law, into a school and a hospital, into a workplace, into security for the family. Many of the things that we take for granted today were once someone's dream".