On the eve of our reception in Schengen by land, the former Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kalin Georgiev, spoke frankly on Nova TV about the compromises, failures and difficult dilemmas behind the parade uniform. Political pressure, public criticism and unforgivable mistakes – what is the real face of this post? Who is the man behind the uniform and what has life on the front line cost him?
Georgiev believes that everyone wants to use the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the services and the army at their own expense. "The security sector is in dire need of reform, but there is no one to do it. I know that I have never, in any way, compromised my conscience and my moral compass. It doesn't matter what's in front of your name, but in the small physical space of the present, you're okay. The Ministry of the Interior took my health. I had an illness other than a cold which I overcame while I was Chief Secretary. I've made bad choices, but history has judged that I wasn't very wrong. I've said "you can fire me, but you won't tell me what to do". We are paid to die so that others may live. And this must be acknowledged to us. The last one born into slavery must die so that the new ones can be born. Doing politics is really like moving the beds in the old hovel with the old maids. Most of the so-called political class are declassified elements", he declared.
As a child, he dreams of being a scout. "I wanted the world, and they gave me an atlas. As soon as you enter the MIA school, they explain to you that your main weapon is the chemical, then my dreams changed. When I was little, I trained in boxing, judo, karate, I did beli. If you ask my childhood friends, they'll tell you I'm a nerd and a freak. In the Ministry of the Interior, they consider me a bit mean and withdrawn, but orderly and methodical. My friends today would describe me as an aging sex symbol. I have never been in politics, I despised it in some of its dimensions, I even disliked it. At work, the most difficult moment for me was the terrorist act in Sarafovo. When I went to the place, I saw human bodies scattered and the smell of burnt flesh. One week I washed my T-shirt in the toilet of the airport, then I threw away my clothes. We are a tourist country with a very soft intelligence regime," shared Georgiev. And he added that he had more than 5 invitations from different parties to become a politician.
According to him, the action "Octopus" was a war with an empire with many resources. "We couldn't handle it qualitatively. It's my fault, I was a professional manager back then. We were naive and not well prepared", pointed out the former Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In his words, the murder of Aleksey Petrov was not connected with his work in DANS. "It's more like settling scores in the underworld. There is no way he had such sensitive information that they would liquidate him", Kalin Georgiev expressed his opinion.
Regarding his current job, he specified: "I myself chose to work in Tsvetelina Borislavova's holding after she invited me. I liked this job. Borisov has nothing to do with it".
He shared that he misses his son Max's childhood. "There was a case where he wished my picture good night, and I was there. He was so used to my absence. My wife and I have been together for a long time, and she continues to be my friend," says Georgiev.