„We enter this campaign with high forehead raised, that we do not owe explanations for lobbying laws, for hugs with the mafia, and I think that we will gain the trust of the Bulgarian citizens. As well as from all political formations that are ready to participate in an anti-GERD model of governance.” This was stated by the deputy chairman of the BSP and leader of the lists of candidates for people's representatives in Veliko Tarnovo and Haskovo Atanas Zafirov on the air of Eurocom.
He defined as the main political opponent of the socialists GERB and the model of Boyko Borisov. “Everyone who stands behind this cause, as well as the hundreds of thousands of citizens who a few years ago came to the squares with demands to change this model and were betrayed by the PP-DB, is welcome to the team of people we want to change things”, said Zafirov.
According to him, the next government itself must be different, because it is a government of national salvation. “It should be non-partisan and the political entities that support it should stand behind proven professionals, not bright political figures”, explained the candidate for deputy.
As an enemy of the BSP in the elections, Atanas Zafirov pointed out the low voter turnout: “When there is a low turnout, then the paid vote is activated and the vast majority of the Bulgarian society remains with a feeling of not being represented in the Bulgarian parliament, this then leads to protests and usually ends in early elections. Therefore, our first appeal to the people is: get out and vote. Vote with your heart, but also with your mind, for people who didn't let you down, didn't betray you and showed that they keep their promises.”
According to him, the BSP has shown that it can fight the parallel state by first doing this within itself, clearing itself of people with addictions. “In order to have the confidence to rule the country, you must first show that you can rule your own party in such a way. I think that we are consistent in our battle with this model, because we resisted all tempting temptations to become part of it,”, Zafirov emphasized.
In this regard, the socialist raised the topic of financing the campaign of Vanya Grigorova and Maya Manolova: “Where does the money for their campaign come from and who is behind it? They surrounded the whole country with billboards – that's hundreds of thousands of BGN. Who pays them?”
According to Atanas Zafirov, the merit of BSP is that it proved how a small opposition force in the 49th parliament can implement its policies.
„We report with satisfaction that we managed to pass important things for Bulgarians, one of the most important, literally in the last days of the National Assembly – postponing the liberalization of electricity for domestic consumers, which would otherwise have led to difficulties for millions of citizens in paying their electricity bills. To this I can add the high penalties for human trafficking, which immediately had an impact, as well as a number of other things that showed that politics can be done with fewer people's representatives, as long as you are consistent, principled and set important for the Bulgarian society issues”, pointed out Zafirov.
In response to a question about the requested tariff increase of “Heating Veliko Tarnovo” at BGN 331 per kilowatt hour, he pointed out that this is a consequence of the “extremely incompetent and treacherous” management of the Bulgarian energy industry in recent years.
„The problem with heating is not from today or yesterday. But all this led to the fact that Bulgaria turned from a large exporter of electricity into a net importer. This leads to similar unreasonable requests,”, explained Zafirov.
„Our list in Veliko Tarnovo is made up exclusively of young people who are aware of the great challenges facing them in a region where BSP has traditionally performed well. Which is a prerequisite for expecting a good result,” said the socialist about the BSP candidates from the district.
„One of our goals is to expand our presence in the region and start solving the burning problems of citizens”, added Zafirov and indicated:
„They are not much different from the problems throughout the country, as well as in the other region, where I also have the honor of being the leader of the lists, Haskovo - demographic crisis, permanent unemployment, low incomes. Both regions, unfortunately, are characterized by being in one of the last places in terms of income growth. 21 settlements in Veliko Tarnovo are without access to drinking water, which affects over 4,000 people. There are even more in Haskovo. This problem is absurd for the 21st century. Add to that the lack of affordable health care, lack of hospitals, and there is only one 24-hour pharmacy in the territory of the entire Veliko Tarnovo region. There is a persistent problem with access to education due to closed schools. There is widespread domestic crime, and against this background, the assembly was closing police stations”, Atanas Zafirov also commented on the problems of his districts.