The draft budget for 2026 could have been significantly more reformist and laid the foundations for faster fiscal consolidation. This was stated by GERB-SDF MP and former Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov in the studio of "The Day Begins with Georgi Lyubenov", quoted by novini.bg. He criticized the philosophy of the financial framework and warned that postponing the necessary measures would make reforms even more difficult.
According to him, the justification that the current government is only continuing the policies of its predecessors has its limits:
"If only what has been done by the previous ones is continued, then staying in the executive offices declaratively means: we are not doing anything. When you are already in the prime minister's office, you can do everything that is required of you by the Constitution. The justification "we inherited" is legitimate to some extent, but not to infinity. We expected more ambitious changes that would normalize the fiscal framework."
According to Goranov, in recent years, state finances have been managed too voluntaristically, although the political crisis partially explained such an approach. He recalled that the government had fulfilled one of the promises made in advance – not to change the tax system, but according to him, the positive assessments end there:
"At least one of the things that the ruling majority declared - that it will not touch the structure of the tax system - has taken place. Unfortunately, this is where the good news ends. A much more ambitious change in the parameters of the budget could and was expected, so that faster consolidation would be pursued."
The former finance minister also commented on the prime minister's statement that no incomes will be reduced and no one will lose money. According to him, such a message may be politically advantageous, but it does not solve the accumulated problems:
"The statement that no one will lose and no one's income will be reduced is probably politically advantageous for a majority that is worried about starting to shrink. But from our political experience, we know that when you do the right things, people show understanding. The more such measures are postponed, the more difficult they become."
As an example, he pointed to the period 2009-2013, when, in his words, unpopular decisions were taken to stabilize public finances. According to Goranov, the current budget framework shows that the deficit will remain above 3% throughout the entire term of office:
"This means that we will actually remain above 3% throughout the entire term of office of the current ruling majority. We will not be able to return to some kind of fiscal normality in four years. This is unacceptable because it starts from a very high base."
Goranov also commented on the proposal that civil servants start paying their own social security contributions while simultaneously increasing their salaries. In his words, this will not have a neutral effect on the budget:
"If someone thinks that the effect is zero or fiscally neutral - it is not. When you increase the salaries of a large group of people in the budget sphere, you increase the average social security income in the country. This is the basis for determining pensions and calculating benefits. The final effect will be fiscally negative, not positive."
He added that even if net salaries remain unchanged, the statistical effect on social security income will affect the future expenses of the state. According to Goranov, a fundamental change has occurred in fiscal policy in recent years:
"In my opinion, the paradigm has changed and it may be decades before the budget ever becomes in surplus. For the first time in many years, there is such convincing parliamentary power and a clear center of power. That is why the expectations for more serious reforms are even greater."
He also expressed concern about the planned new indebtedness:
"How will we explain that in 2026 we will be indebted by 10 billion euros? Yes, it will be said that decisions from the past have been accumulated. But each of these decisions can be overturned. If the declaration is that no one will lose anything, this means only one thing - we will be accumulating a bill for future generations."
When asked whether the party would organize protests against the budget, Goranov answered negatively:
"I have never liked this form of decision-making. We will not gather GERB activists for a protest. Just a few months ago there were elections and people showed their attitude towards political parties. Of course, every protest is a legitimate right to express a position."
Goranov stated that GERB is ready to support the proposals for the election of a new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council, if the procedures are followed:
"The nomination mechanism is clearly described in the Law on the Judiciary. We may have comments, but if the nominations are within the rules, there is no reason to be against them. We are ready to support the decisions that the ruling party will propose, so that there are no accusations that we are sabotaging the process."
The former finance minister rejected the claims that GERB unconditionally supports the majority:
"We have clearly stated our positions on the individual votes. Sometimes we have supported, sometimes - not. But if there is someone who will definitely vote for the ruling party, it is the MRF, not GERB."
On the topic of the upcoming presidential vote, Goranov said that the party is still analyzing possible scenarios, but according to him, without a common right-wing candidate, the chances of success are decreasing:
"The presidential elections have never been the most important for us. We do our analyzes, but we are sure of one thing - if there is no unified candidacy on the right, the probability of it being victorious decreases. Therefore, it was surprising to us where the idea of Gyurov being a candidate came from. Our party members are not enthusiastic about such a candidacy."