"There are enough politicians, but there are no statesmen in Bulgaria. There are no people who have statesmanship. Everything is piecemeal, everything is at the last minute and unfortunately "hidden-covered". The army is always involved in a disaster, but it has been left to its own devices in the last 3 years.
This is what Krasimir Karakachanov, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, told BNR. He commented on the crises that have accumulated in recent times - fires, a derailed train, explosions in warehouses with pyrotechnics.
In his words, the state copes according to the possibilities it has, which, according to him, are not great:
"In recent years, after each crisis, there is talk of how the existing equipment will be acquired or repaired, but this is not happening. When the fires broke out in different places and on huge territories - you saw that the government had 2 helicopters.
The army is always involved in a disaster, but it has been left to its own devices in the last 3 years, the former defense minister expressed his opinion. He emphasized that the necessary funds are not allocated either for equipment or for the repair and maintenance of existing equipment:
"The army is seen as a sack of flour, which you knock down and take out of the warehouses weapons to give to other countries, not to repair and use them, i.e. for Bulgaria to use it. Politicians do not care about the army and are waiting for the army to do the things they have not done over the years.
According to him, however, this caretaker government cannot be blamed. The governments in the last 3 years have not done anything serious to prepare the army so that it can deal with the problems more efficiently, Karakachanov was categorical. And added:
"The equipment is seen as an opportunity to be gifted to someone, in the case of Ukraine, and not to be used for the Bulgarian army".
According to him, the APCs we donated some time ago are for disasters and accidents:
"Why these APCs, which are not suitable for military operations because they are very old and have weak armor protection, are not converted into machines to be used in floods, in disasters, in accidents. It is more important for our politicians to give them somewhere and pat them on the back, and when fires break out or disasters break out, they start whining and promising how they will buy new ones. You will see that they will not buy anything. Buying a helicopter is not like buying a mixer.
"No thought. These things should be thought about not when the fires break out, but before that", the former military minister is categorical and summarized:
"Once again, another disaster finds another ruler unprepared".
Similar incidents with fires and explosions are observed all over the world, he reminded and added that the question is how capable the state is of reacting and solving such crisis situations.
"For another year, both with floods and with fires, the state is again not ready and everything is at a standstill. Now we have yet to quickly buy some helicopters. Let's look at what equipment we have, how it can be maintained, repaired and used efficiently with much less money, rather than wondering how to give away the equipment to please our external partners. The problem is the servile mentality of our politicians - it is more important for them to get a pat on the shoulder from the embassy or from Brussels than to solve the problems of Bulgarian citizens. When we are ruled by people who think they have superiors somewhere abroad, you see what happens", commented Krasimir Karakachanov.
In his words, from election to election, things get worse and worse, and the state - more and more unprepared. According to him, the people who rule do not think in perspective, but look for a way to patch the holes.
Karakachanov defined the election of Nikolay Nenchev as temporary manager of the embassy in Kyiv as a "political decision". According to him, it is normal for there to be tension and for the president to react when the National Assembly does everything possible to limit his powers.
"In a country like Ukraine, where there is a war, you should send a person with clear powers who, after consultation with all institutions, will get approval, not cause disapproval,", he believes.