There should be no budget shifts, said the former GERB finance minister Vladislav Goranov to the Bulgarian National Radio. "The budget is a communication. It is what the current coalition majority would support. Today we would not be talking about the eurozone and its benefits, we would not even be talking about a budget if the existence of this coalition majority had not started," he pointed out.
Goranov also launched attacks on the deputy chairman of "We Continue the Change" (PP) and former Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, who earlier today criticized the ruling party and their proposed draft budget. "Because he was prime minister and boasted about how much they increased pensions. Here is the genesis. In the time after 2020, a political crisis has begun that has not yet ended. It will end when populism gives way to real politics. Borisov joked that bidding in politics resembles that fairy tale about the wedding, where they asked the question - should we give the cow and calf now or later, "he emphasized.
Vladislav Goranov defined this type of "communication with the public" as extreme populism and was categorical that this must stop. He asked how to stop populism, however, when, for example, President Rumen Radev, who has little to do with fiscal management - a territory reserved for the Council of Ministers under the Constitution, comes out in August and says that the people are getting poorer. The former finance minister stressed that at the same time, 7 billion leva more was spent on pensions and salaries compared to the same period last year.
"At a time when the political debate is so confused, it's good that we still manage to do some governance. Surely the Bulgarian has never been richer in its thousand-year history compared to today. Tomorrow it will be even richer. It is already one of the richest residents of the Balkan Peninsula," he said.
According to Goranov, the political crisis will end the moment Radev's second presidential term expires. "While he is a divisive figure and puts additional pressure on the political system, its ability to calm itself down is decreasing. For 2-3 years, he practically ruled the executive branch. He brought in Assen Vassilev as Minister of Finance, and Kiril Petkov - Minister of Economy," he also said.
Vladislav Goranov emphasized that Assen Vassilev has corrupted the understanding of public finance management. In addition, he took the money for the "Hemus" highway, which has since tripled in price. "We warned that the idea that you can make a society richer through debt is wrong. This avalanche has started and will not be easily calmed without a broad political consensus. We are very far from a balanced budget," he pointed out. Otherwise, according to him, it would have come to an increase in taxes sooner or later.
"Hopefully the political crisis will end so that we can sit at the table and return the fiscal debate to a normal basis. But today the political class can produce this. We are aware that it is extremely unfavorable to increase labor costs. At the same time, some boast about the huge increase in pensions achieved over the years. We know that the insurance contributions that should finance pensions are these. We also have a pension model that was put to a very serious test in the years after Covid", commented the former Finance Minister.
He noted that the current situation has come about as a result of the accumulation of political tension, which has led to fragmentation in society and some voters have lost interest in participating in the electoral process. "We need a little more time to heal. I congratulate everyone who participates in governance, because this has a political price", Goranov believes. The rulers have given their word that the next budget will be made in calmer times. "I hope that next year the time for reason will come. This year was the time of joining the eurozone, of calming the political terrain," he said.
He commented on the topic of the detained mayor of Varna Blagomir Kotsev and the reproaches from his PP party members. "Borisov and I have been arrested. We know that it is not pleasant. It is no coincidence that after the detention of Blagomir Kotsev, Borisov insisted on his release and that his sentence be changed. However, this is not a judgment of politicians. Unlike the hypocritical position of some PP representatives, we have a consistent line - whatever the court says is authoritative," Vladislav Goranov emphasized.
He also said that Blagomir Kotsev is a media creature. "He fired all the decent experts in the Varna administration. The time will come for you to hear what the court didn't let him go for so far. I've heard scary stories", Goranov shared.