Will the government manage to compile a budget that will provide Bulgaria with the opportunity to be in the eurozone in the foreseeable future and meet both the requirements of the individual industries that expect a wage increase, and the party promises of the political forces from the coalition?
„Borisov said the main thing yesterday - „we will not touch social benefits“, therefore he is putting a „stop“ on any cuts, suspensions, freezes of pensions and salaries. We'll see, but this will be a socially conservative budget with an attempt to plug the hole in the budget“, sociologist Andrey Raichev told bTV.
And he specified that this can only be done with loans.
„What will actually happen is that the subsidies promised at the wedding will be sharply cut - for bakers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, and instead of raising taxes, social security contributions will be raised. This, in the end, is the same“, commented journalist Petko Georgiev.
And he synthesized the policy of the ruling coalition in the following way:
„We promise that we will not touch salaries, but we will touch them. We promise that we will not increase the tax burden, but we will burden you with new social security contributions. And despite our heroic efforts, we will not be able to plug the hole and the euro – somewhere further“.
The debate about the euro is fundamentally geopolitical, according to Andrey Raichev.
The sociologist explained that for the defenders of the euro it is important because it is the last step in integration.
„We have starved this Europe, we have changed. We have one last chance. We must change second class to first class – to enter where there is both the euro and Schengen. However, the people do not participate in the debate – "The people only increase in the debate whether prices will increase by 5 percent," commented Raichev.
And Petko Georgiev defined the geopolitical dispute as “absolutely pointless“.
“With the party that is the conduit of Great Russian chauvinism in Bulgaria (he is talking about “Vazrazhdane“) arguing about the euro, NATO or anything else is absolutely pointless. There are two other opponents of the euro here who are undercover (undercover – ed. note) a little“, he said.
And he specified that some are politicians who are used to managing the budget with greater ease. For those from the second group, he explained that “they do not necessarily belong to the political class or criminal groups, but they have a lot of money in leva in cash hidden somewhere“.