The previous director of the Sofia Directorate of Interior Affairs, Lyubomir Nikolov, is the new professional head of the Ministry of Interior. Due to the unexpected resignation of Georgi Kandev, the Minister of Interior needs time to choose a holder of the post.
"For me, it was a very big surprise. I am inclined to believe the words of Minister Demerdzhiev that it was a surprise for him too. Nothing suggested such a personnel decision,“ commented former Minister of Interior Prof. Veselin Vuchkov in the studio of “Denyat ON AIR”.
He emphasized that Kandev has managed to break a very unfavorable trend regarding the trust and image of the Bulgarian police.
Nevertheless, the former Minister of Interior is categorical that society needs more clarity.
“There is probably some serious reason that Mr. Kandev will have to share with the public. A little more information should be given, because in practice he submitted a surprise resignation just one month after being elected," he commented on Bulgaria ON AIR.
Regarding Kandev's statement on social networks that it is impossible to choose between his position and his principles, Vuchkov commented that this is a serious statement that requires additional clarifications so as not to create ambiguity among the public and employees in the ministry. Prof. Vuchkov drew attention to the serious problem with temporary officials in the Ministry of Interior system. He noted that currently dozens and hundreds of management positions are in a similar situation of "personnel shortage".
"The time has come for both the new parliamentary majority and the new political leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to overcome this shortcoming - to gradually fill the positions with incumbents, including the very important position called the Chief Secretary", the guest is categorical.
He described the choice of the head of the SDVR as the acting Chief Secretary as a good move, since the SDVR is the largest and most serious regional directorate, acting as a "mini-ministry" with enormous operational, security and patrol activities. Vuchkov added that the director of the SDVR is always a potential figure for the highest professional position in the state. Regarding the rumors about Georgi Kandev's future political career and his possible candidacy for vice president in tandem with Andrey Gyurov, Prof. Vuchkov revealed that he had foreseen such a development a month and a half ago.
"I do not at all rule out the possibility that Mr. Kandev will share an upcoming political career. The basic prerequisites for this are in place. It is possible, of course, that he will also be a candidate for vice president in tandem with Mr. Gyurov, because he has potential", he pointed out, but reminded from personal experience that there is a huge difference between a professional position in the Ministry of Interior and pure politics. According to the former minister, the enormous political pressure and clashes around the Ministry of Interior and the Secretary General are due to the fact that this department is in front of people's eyes every day and has a huge lever of influence.
"There is enormous interest in the Ministry of Interior. You fight against criminal activities - economic, criminal, organized crime, corruption. The leak of information on all these cases is of great interest," explained Prof. Vuchkov.
He added that there is nothing wrong with having a political decision in choosing a Secretary General, but after his appointment this person must exercise his powers according to law, and not indulge the "whims of the minister and the parliamentary majority". Prof. Vuchkov expressed a strong skeptical attitude towards the case of the expulsion of Ukrainian entrepreneur Oleg Nevzorov and the subsequent cancellation of the order.
He described the situation as extremely strange.
"This is not elementary negligence and laziness of institutions. Here there is certainly state-municipal complicity in the broadest sense of the word - I even use it in quotation marks - in an absolutely illegal activity,“ he was categorical.
Vuchkov criticized the activities of SANS and called it a “professional and political mistake“, which has not been corrected for almost two decades.
According to him, it is unacceptable for a counterintelligence and information-analytical service to interfere in criminal cases.
He called for increased parliamentary control and a hearing of Denkov and Demerdzhiev on this c