Toncho Kraevski to FACT: Bulgaria must prepare for the new security reality

If we had to summarize the work of the government since its election, I would say that there are several major problems that it had to solve and still has to solve. They are the result of the historical situation, not anything else. The government was given a huge mandate to carry out fundamental changes in the Bulgarian state, since it has 131 deputies. We are talking about an unprecedented mandate, the likes of which we have only seen after the crisis in 1996-1997, when the opportunity for radical reforms was also given. Then, after the severe economic cataclysms, changes were undertaken by the government of Ivan Kostov, who had 137 mandates, but as a coalition. He announced this to Lili Marinkova in the studio “FACT“ and the program “Conversation“ political scientist Toncho Krajevski.

„Today, changes are being slowed down for internal and external reasons. On the internal front, this is due to the erosion of the system built over the previous decades. Every system - good or bad - has its expiration date. The pension and healthcare systems no longer correspond to the current economic and demographic structure of society. They were created for a different time, for a different population and for a different age structure. The same applies to the economic model that neglected production at the expense of services and tourism. Obviously, this model no longer works. Europe is bringing production back, and a number of countries in Southern Europe are already recognizing the limitations of an economy based primarily on tourism, because it creates mainly low-paid employment and puts pressure on the quality of life in the urban environment. Therefore, this economic and social model must be revised with a long-term horizon,“ the guest added.

„Fundamental changes have also occurred on the external front. The security architecture on which Bulgaria built its policy after joining NATO and the European Union no longer exists in its previous form. When our country joined these organizations, there was a coincidence of interests between the main centers of influence - Washington, Brussels and Ankara. It was this environment that allowed Bulgaria to reduce attention to its own defense capabilities and not prepare for a possible military conflict. Now the situation is different. The interests of Western Europe, the United States and Turkey increasingly diverge. The contradictions between the allies are deepening and this places Bulgaria in a significantly more complex security environment. We can no longer rely solely on external guarantees. Our own preparation, capacity building and internal readiness for the defense of the country are necessary. This is the new reality to which Bulgaria must adapt, Krajevski added.

See more of the conversation in the VIDEO.