Will there be a new office? President Rumen Radev will meet with the candidate for interim prime minister Dimitar Glavchev at 10 a.m. on “Dondukov“ 2. Will Kalin Stoyanov remain Minister of the Interior… The political scientist Prof. Milena Stefanova spoke to FAKTI on the topic.
- Prof. Stefanova, why is the figure of the interior minister so important for the elections that the state depends on him. And how can we now believe that the next interior minister will not be like Kalin Stoyanov?
- The elections are organized by the Central Election Commission. The Government assists, according to its powers, and provides the finances. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has an important role in securing elections abroad. The Home Secretary has ancillary functions, in accordance with his powers, to provide security and detect crimes such as vote-buying. Blaming only the minister for the fact that the elections are not fair is too elementary. The state does not depend on the Minister of the Interior, but on the responsibility of the political parties. I think things were highly politicized by one political party – PP, and the others in the created situation were forced to invite.
The sad fact that Kalin Stoyanov is a professional whom the parties used politically
and Zorlem will turn him into a politician. Maybe it was meant to happen that way. Let's remember the career of Boyko Borisov.
- We are replacing two or three ministers and Glavchev's new cabinet will be better and acceptable. Is that what it looks like?
- It may seem that way to someone. In fact, this is the only option at the moment. After so many official offices and with a limited choice of Prime Ministers - this is the situation. Frequent change of ministers is not helpful. At least those who do their job can be acceptable and I welcome such an approach. The preservation of the institution of official government in the Constitution in a very inept way shows the results today. In seeking to limit the powers of the president, they did not consider how things happen if one cabinet has to hand over executive power to the next cabinet, but without a regular government being formed. And it could have been recorded that the caretaker government continues to exercise its powers until a regular one is elected. But the changes were dictated by conjunctural circumstances ….
- Did President Radev exceed his powers after refusing to sign the decree for Gorica Kozhareva's draft cabinet with Kalin Stoyanov in it?
- This is a question for the constitutionalists. There is plenty of room for interpretation. It is not recorded that the president can interfere in the selection of the candidate for prime minister. It is written in the Constitution that the named prime minister candidate represents the composition of the government. At the first application of the new constitutional norms, Radev signed without comment. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court could not rule on the disputed texts and they remained in effect. Now Radev decided that he should put on the agenda in a practical situation the implementation of the unfinished constitutional texts. We must not forget that this autumn, as far as I know, there is a change of two members of the Central Committee from the president's quota, and with a suitable choice, the ratio of votes in the Central Committee may change in favor of Radev. The constitutionalists themselves argue in the media whether Radev violated the Constitution or not. Things are complicated, and in my opinion, when a legal norm is subject to interpretation and different interpretations, it is not a legal norm. But I'm not a lawyer.
- Out of 10 options for a caretaker prime minister, I mean the changes in the Constitution, we barely get to one. Do we need such changes?
- No, of course. The idea is that the persons occupying positions on the list are somehow independent directly from the parties. Except it's not exactly like that. PP and DB, when they launched these changes in the Constitution, thought that they would have time to fill the composition with their own people. This is where all the wickedness is. All, without exception, who occupy any of the listed positions in the list, or from the “home book”, as Radev called it, are elected by certain majorities in the National Assembly. Some parties propose them, others support them …
The understanding that the Prime Minister must be equidistant or independent from all parties is “wooden iron”.
You won't find such a person, and you don't need to. The Prime Minister and Ministers must have political experience apart from expertise. And political experience is formed through the parties. When they have no political experience, you can see what they are capable of. Let's remember Kiril Petkov as Prime Minister. I am also very worried about the fact that this list of positions will no longer attract worthy people, experts who, at the thought that they might have to become prime ministers, would not agree to be nominated. Beauty cannot be forced! The analysis of the situation surrounding the unfulfilled Prime Minister Gorica Grancharova-Kozhareva speaks against such changes. Even during the nomination, in an interview with another media outlet, I said that a person without political experience, such as she is, would have a hard time resisting political pressure. Well, it's confirmed. The prime minister must necessarily have political experience.
- Delyan Peevski invited Kalin Stoyanov to be the leader of the list, but the latter is still the interior minister. Did the masks fall off?
- Delyan Peevski is a very flexible and cunning politician. He saw that Kalin Stoyanov enjoyed the trust of the policemen and immediately tried to attract him in order to win the votes of the policemen. In fact, the invitation to participate still means nothing. Peevski can invite both you and me, but it is important whether we would agree. When we see if Stoyanov, who will not be the Minister of the Interior in the next government of Glavchev, will be part of the lists of some of Peevski's parties, if he will accept, then we will read the facts. To date, things are too conditional – we don't know what will happen to DPS, whether there will be only one registered DPS or two, and still unknown circumstances do not give us the opportunity to analyze the situation fully.
- Boyko Borisov advised Dimitar Glavchev not to rely on Kalin Stoyanov. Will we see a new name…
- We will probably see a new name. To do otherwise would be pointless and useless. The unknown in this case is whether this person, or any person, will not once again become a target for the forces of change to justify their existence. If they make out again that the Minister of the Interior is related to Peevski …
Well, I don't know how Peevski became a substitute for Borisov. Were they roaring against GERB and Borisov? Now it's Peevski, it's not even DPS, because they rely on Dogan.
Oh, it's not funny anymore, it's sad. The situation is very alarming. PP-DB realized that without GERB and part of DPS there is no one to build any government with. Now they are wondering what anti-campaign to do. Because they clearly cannot and do not know how to organize a positive one. I do not approve of Peevski, Dogan, Borisov, or Petkov. Not as individuals, but their political behavior.
But PP-DB in the last 4 years made it so that today the most responsible Bulgarian politician is Borisov.
For this, many of their potential voters will not forgive them, because they used the energy of change without implementing it. The worst thing is that with their behavior and speaking, they opened a place for parties like “Revival“, “Greatness“, some Sword on the border of entering the parliament. This is already dangerous. It leads to an increasingly fragmented representation and the inability to form a coalition government. And it will have to be coalition. There is no other chance at this time.
- Why do we still have doubts about the honesty of the vote...
- Because we are suspicious of each other and the constant talking of politicians further incites doubts. But no one disputes the results! We're just talking to each other and we're unhappy. Outside of emotional evaluation, there is not enough evidence to challenge the election. I have repeatedly said that citizens and parties are the guarantors of fair elections. But the parties are looking for all kinds of ways, within the limits of the law, to secure more votes. There is an option to disconnect the corporate and purchased vote networks. But the corresponding amendments to the Electoral Code are not accepted. We have been talking about regional census centers for years. When the ballots are counted in precincts, it is very easy to control the vote, add voters, and other practices to apply. Let's not promote them unnecessarily. But when, in the entire constituency, the ballots before being counted are collected in one place and other people count, then control is impossible. It is also important to note that the bought and controlled vote only matters in local elections, when a few votes can decide the election of a mayor. In national elections such as parliamentary and presidential, it is almost impossible for this to have a significant impact.
- How the theme of the elections became part of party propaganda. Parties use the vote as an excuse for their wrong political moves….
- Maybe because they have nothing else to talk about. The parties have practically not had any moves in politics for a long time. They deal only with themselves and with some persons. As long as this continues, voters will be completely alienated.
- Why can't parties broadcast government?
- Because they are incompetent, obviously. They are so tight-lipped that it is very hard to believe that things will change after the next election. The egos and grudges of some politicians proved to be a significant obstacle to the formation of a government. There is also a significant deficit of political culture and management capacity. Of course, this is the visible part that we observe. There is also an invisible one, probably. Some observers and commentators see the intervention of Putin's long arm, others might say that another embassy is interfering. I cannot speculate, but the results serve all those who do not want Bulgaria to be a stable democracy and to enter the Eurozone.
- In the last elections, a record low number of voters voted - 34%. What are you waiting for now?
- Probably the same or even lower participation. We're all fed up. The parties have given no indication that they are accountable to us. See what the 50th Parliament was up to! They listened to the ministers from the caretaker government, argued about seats in some committees, accepted without knowing why a bill of “Revival” to limit something that doesn't exist in schools! They deal with things that are outside the agenda of society. They have no power and desire for the essentials. Non-participation in the elections, besides reducing the legitimacy of the institution, creates opportunities for the emergence of new, non-systemic, small players, which only worsens the situation. It's good that we don't have a strong army or police, so a coup and a dictatorship are too impossible. However, instability is more harmful than even dictatorship. The shaky democracy is slowly and systematically moving us away from the positive growth we would like to have.
- Scandal after scandal and it has already become such that an interim government cannot be formed? Where are we going…
- A caretaker government will still be formed. We will also hold another early election. A serious transformation of the party system and the definition of the main players is ahead. First of all, ideologically. This with “no left, no right“ again not working. Secondly, the rules of clear governing coalitions must be clarified and implemented to form a regular government, with a clear agenda and priorities of governance. Of the parties and coalitions represented in the National Assembly, only GERB, ITN and “Vazrazhdane” they have no internal party problems. BSP is torn internally, although it shows that it is trying to unite the left. The DPS is falling apart, but it is not clear exactly what will happen, “Majesty” dances only one spring.
The PP-DB coalition still cannot find itself and it is not clear whether they will stand together in elections in the fall,
albeit for the last time, how they will make their decisions, how they will overcome the contradictions. PP are de facto left liberals, “Yes Bulgaria” and DSB are defined as right-wing, insofar as DSB is a member of the EPP, and “Yes Bulgaria” declared a desire for membership in the same European family, but since the coalition did not nominate a representative of this party as an MEP, it is not clear what is happening. There are too many unknowns. In such a situation, can the new 51st National Assembly produce a sustainable majority to elect a government? At this point, we can't give a definite answer yet, we'll see. We can only wish that the new politicians have grown up and are responsible. Kindergarten is a pleasant moment in the maturation of the individual, but it cannot be eternal. And it depends on us. Let's go and vote. And to think before making our choice. There will be options to choose from, I am convinced. Let's vote positively, not punitively, because we are punishing ourselves.