For the first time, the president allows himself to gain popularity with such a cheap move, as the request for a referendum “for“ and “against“ the euro. And knowing the fact that most Bulgarians, being scared of what the consequences will be, are against the introduction of the euro, Rumen Radev is earning cheap dividends. This was said by sociologist Andrey Raichev in the program “Bulgaria, Europe and the World in Focus” on Radio “Focus”.
In his words, Radev made a political mistake with this request. His move is very strong politically and with many consequences, but with it he loses the centrists and wins the extremists, only that these extremists will turn against him at the first problem. "I am afraid that it gains little and loses a lot." Moreover, there is a clear decision of the Constitutional Court and it excludes holding a referendum on this issue, since Bulgaria has committed to adopting the euro since the signing of the Treaty on Accession to the EU. The interesting thing will be if the convergence report on June 4 is negative, the analyst pointed out, adding that there is a possibility that the ruling coalition will fall apart, since "adopting the euro strengthens a government that is very difficult to establish".
According to Raichev, a profound change is observed in Bulgaria regarding Europe - Europe has ceased to be a myth and has ceased to be a mobilizing concept in our country. Gradually, Bulgaria has become an ordinary European country with a normal attitude towards Europe, in which there are both critical and skeptical elements, and in which some people are against Europe. This is the situation in all European countries. "We held on to some mythological construct for a long time and now it has collapsed. There is no myth, there are practical disputes - profitable/unprofitable, expensive/cheap, etc.“
The main positive effect of adopting the euro is the serious control over Bulgaria's financial system, Andrey Raichev also said. “From the moment of adopting the euro, our banks, insurance companies, pension funds and all other funds, and all state budget secret operations will be visible to Europe and will become impossible.“
Adopting the euro is an extremely important step, especially at a time when disintegration processes are developing in Europe, Raichev is categorical. “And at this moment, Bulgaria must definitely enter Europe in order to enter the innermost circle of Europe, so as not to fall out. This is the last move we have left,“ he said and added that even the political parties are aware of this and have swallowed Peevski's entry into the ruling coalition. Therefore, according to the analyst, once the result becomes clear in June, a political crisis will occur and probably new elections.