Prices in the country are not rising because we adopted the euro. Prices are also rising in Romania, where they use leu, and they are also rising in Hungary, where they use forint. There are three factors that are causing prices to rise in Bulgaria. This was stated in an interview with Nova News by former Deputy Prime Minister Nikolay Vassilev, quoted by novini.bg
According to him, the first reason is the poor budget policy of the large expenditures and deficits of recent years. In second place, he placed the situation in the Middle East.
“The third factor is income growth. For the 30th year now, the average salary has been rising faster than inflation, i.e. incomes are growing faster than inflation“, the economist specified.
And he emphasized that the overall inflation in the country is around 7%, not 70%, as it seems to most people.
Regarding the new government, Nikolay Vassilev expressed satisfaction that we finally have a regular cabinet and, above all, that it is a one-party one. However, he did not hide his surprise that a political force won elections with such a decisive victory, without having conducted almost any election campaign.
According to Vassilev, it is very important that the draft budget for 2026 has a budget surplus, a sharp cut in budget expenditures to below 4% of GDP, and that direct taxes are not increased.
“We need a budget of the counter-revolution, i.e. "We need a turnaround from the budget debacle of the last five years," he explained.
He also encouraged the new government to lay off 30,000 employees in the state administration this week, assuring that with this action, Radev's cabinet will win the sympathy of at least 90% of Bulgarian society.
"Then the administration will work better, and people will find better jobs in the private sector," Vassilev is confident.
According to him, there is no connection between the ITN and the "Radev" cabinet, noting that the majority of Rumen Radev's ministers seem to him to be of high quality.
Regarding the criticism of Velislava Petrova, who took over the foreign ministry despite being a virologist, Nikolay Vassilev explained that this is not so important if she is able to do her job. as the country's first diplomat should.
“Velislava was in my draft cabinet and she was my discovery. I can say that she is an educated and talented person“, he said.