Bozhidar Bozhanov accused the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) of “rapidly turning into a propaganda channel for the government.” The occasion was its coverage of his participation, along with Finance Minister Galab Donev, in the “Panorama” program, as well as the subsequent reports in BNT’s news broadcasts.
According to Bozhanov, the morning and evening news broadcasts showed Donev’s explanation on the issue of the second pension pillar, but omitted his response from the studio. He also claimed that the context surrounding a letter to the European Commission dated November 2 had not been presented.
The Dispute over the Letter to the European Commission
On “Panorama,” Bozhanov showed a document he described as a letter from the finance minister to the European Commission. He read from it: “The government proposes the temporary redirection of part of the mandatory pension contribution from the second pillar to the first pillar for the period 2027-2029.”
Bozhanov said that the document was dated November 2 and linked its contents to previous claims by the ruling parties that no such idea had been discussed. “In other words, all the claims that this was fake news were a lie,” he said on the program.
In response, Galab Donev said: “I cannot explain where this piece of paper came from.” According to him, these were comments made during the period when the government was communicating with the European Commission.
Donev clarified that the cabinet was in dialogue with pension insurance companies and pursuing a different policy. He denied that the discussion had been related to abandoning the measure because it had been publicly announced, or to seeking funds to fill the deficit in the public finances.
Criticism of the National Television Broadcaster
In a post cited by “Fokus,” Bozhanov said that BNT had shown the government’s explanation but not his objections. “When you deliberately hide the context, it means you are hiding the truth,” he wrote.
He added that he rarely allowed himself to criticize media outlets and that politicians should not determine what should be published. Nevertheless, in his view, the national broadcaster moves away from the public interest when it presents only one side of a controversial issue.
Bozhanov concluded his statement by calling on the government to stop turning BNT into a “propaganda defender of the government.” During the program itself, the conversation between Donev and host Boyko Vasilev continued with a discussion of the state of the public finances.
Sources: focus-news.net