A state is built with commitment and courage. The same courage that your ancestors had, fighting for the freedom of this region. This was stated in Blagoevgrad by the president (2016-2026) and leader of the "Progressive Bulgaria" coalition Rumen Radev, a FOCUS reporter reported.
According to him, Blagoevgrad has enormous potential, but young people continue to leave. Radev asked why the region has 6% of Bulgaria's territory, but attracts less than 2% of foreign direct investment.
"Why is the average salary here far less than it should be? Why is unemployment twice as high? We could go on with these questions. Not to mention healthcare. I used to come to your hospital especially during the COVID crisis. I know the problems, I followed them afterwards. But the answer is not here, because over these years we have seen enough of negligence and incompetence in government, we have seen enough of robbery, we have seen enough of betrayal and all sorts of shameful "scheming". We have seen too many rulers who do not dare to declare our national interest abroad in the unions we are members of and in international formats“, Rumen Radev also said.
He explained that while he was president, many people asked him why he did not found a party to “sweep out the thieves“ and lead Bulgaria on a new path.
"We did that! We formed “Progressive Bulgaria“ as a powerful political alternative that would restore our trust in our own country and confidence in our future. Our goals are very clear - to throw the oligarchic cabals out of political power, to cut off their access to public resources and to stop the thefts. These cabals caused serious damage. They killed the hope of all of us that there could be real change, that there could be principles and morality in Bulgarian politics. In these elections, I believe that we will punish those parties and politicians who, without asking us, forcibly and prematurely introduced the euro to us, over everyone's heads," he added.
According to him, corrupt officials have been "pocketing Bulgarians" for years, and the caretaker government did the same yesterday, taking out 17 million for weapons for Ukraine without any dialogue with the institutions and without the sanction of the parliament, and in the midst of inflation and the fuel crisis.
"Our goal is to preserve peace and prevent Bulgaria from being drawn into the military conflicts that are raging around us, because these wars are not ours. We did not start them. Not a cent of our budget should and will not go to these wars, because our money should remain for our pensioners, children, healthcare and education,“ he added.
Rumen Radev stated that the center of the policy of "Progressive Bulgaria“ is the ordinary person, his security and decent income.
The leader of "Progressive Bulgaria“ used the opportunity to present the coalition's priorities to the Blagoevgrad public. Among them are the expulsion of the oligarchy, the election of a new Supreme Judicial Council, reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the services, a revision of public procurement and the pursuit of responsibility from proxy persons with palaces and properties of unclear origin. In addition, in the program of "Progressive Bulgaria“ support for small and medium-sized businesses, food sovereignty in the agricultural sector, reforms in the healthcare, education and sports sectors are envisaged.
From his words it became clear that Blagoevgrad can be an innovative and entrepreneurial center, thanks to its young people.
In terms of tourism, they will work for a four-season product and aggressive advertising of Bulgaria abroad.
I believe that we will win these elections, the question is by how much. I call on you on April 19 to vote together to restore justice and for Bulgaria to embark on the path of accelerated modern development, he also said.
Dr. Eng. Rositsa Karamfilova-Blagova, who is the leader of the list of "Progressive Bulgaria" in the 1st MIR, said for her part that Blagoevgrad region is not a periphery, it is a missed opportunity. According to her, in the district we have tourism, there is agriculture, there are people, a strategic location. However, what is missing is a strong state policy and a strong state administration to stand behind this potential, but we will do it. We will work for fewer obstacles to business, for more investments beyond those that we currently see in the few large cities. For support for local entrepreneurs, for young people, she added.