The mayor of Sofia, Vasil Terziev, was suggested possible solutions to the transport crisis - transferring funds from different sources, drawing loans, reserves, raising ticket prices or parking zones. The revenue account in the capital's budget is skewed. This is how political scientist Georgi Kiryakov commented in the studio of "Hello, Bulgaria" the transport crisis in the capital, which left citizens without public transport for nearly a week.
After a six-day strike for higher wages, the ground public transport in Sofia gradually resumed its movement from the evening of May 19. This decision by unions and workers was reached after the state allocated 15 million leva for the four municipal transport companies.
Terziev must find a majority in order not to block Sofia. Currently, there is one in the SOS, but it was formed by the opposition, which the mayor failed to attract. In the case of the public transport crisis, Todor Zhivkov's remark "the one who has the money decides" fits well. This is exactly the type of dialogue that occurred between Borisov and Terziev. Both sides are right about themselves - a majority in the SOS is necessary to work effectively. However, Borisov went through the same thing in his first term as mayor, when there was a garbage crisis. It will be difficult to hold elections with a legitimately elected mayor, he can govern with floating majorities seeking support on certain issues," commented Kiryakov.
The government's intervention came after Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev failed to reach an agreement with the protesters and end the transport blockade of the capital.
With the funds allocated by the cabinet, the demands of the unions for a salary increase should be met by the end of the year, but how the money will be distributed will be decided by the Sofia Municipality. It is believed that the employees' demands for an increase of 300 leva will be satisfied. of the basic salaries in the four transport companies in the capital.
Political scientist Lyubomir Stefanov believes that it is a big mistake to become mayor of Sofia without knowing what you are getting into.
"Terziev is learning the hard way and understands how to construct majorities. His PP formation relied on "Save Sofia" in the SOS, but it withdrew. There is no communication about the problems from the mayor's side, since there is no majority, his program must adapt, not stay in the trenches. From now on, it seems that there will be problems that are impossible to deal with. Terziev does not seem to understand what it is to be mayor of the capital, 1/4 of Bulgarians live here, he is the fifth person in the country. This is not obvious. Local authorities are hostages of the central government because they do not have enough revenue. "For years, transport has been subsidized by the state, which means there is no money, local taxes and fees are not enough to cover the costs. We need to think about a new Local Government Law," Stefanov said.