On occasion of the fourth anniversary of their inauguration, Bulgaria’s President Rossen Plevneliev and Bulgaria’s Vice-President Margarita Popova rendered account of the activity of the Presidential institution during a special press conference. President Plevneliev mentioned in his speech the construction of new motorways and the Sofia underground, as well as the purchase of new buses for Sofia’s public transport. Rossen Plevneliev also pointed out his contribution to the development of the country’s economy through encouraging various business initiatives and the fulfillment of various activities held under the auspices of the Bulgarian head of state.

“I changed the priorities of the Bulgarian power-engineering completely. Instead of the Grand Slam formed of three Russian projects, I set three very reasonable priorities to Bulgaria: energy efficiency, energy diversification and energy liberalization.”

In President Plevneliev’s words, Bulgaria enjoyed political stability in 2015. However, there is still a lack of enough will for reforms in Bulgaria’s judicial system.

“The amendments to the Constitution adopted at the end of 2015 were a step forward in the right direction. However, they left the impression of a lack of political will and bravery for a deeper and more comprehensive reform in the country’s judicial field. I will welcome every attempt aimed at intensifying the reform in that sphere.” In President Plevneliev’s view, the deep crisis in Bulgaria is due to the low confidence of the Bulgarian citizens towards the local politicians and institutions. Within that context President Plevneliev reminded of the wave of civil protests in Bulgaria, as well as about the large number of citizens who took part in last year’s national referendum on election rules, in particular on the introduction of electronic voting.

In her speech Vice-President Margarita Popova said that it was high time for everyone to stop seeing the world from rose-colored glasses.

“Where do we stand in the project of the social sate? Is there any social security in the country? Is there any spiritual security and social unity in our society? In all countries of the world this is mainly a task and a responsibility of the Presidential institution.”

According to political analyst Boris Popivanov who lectures at Sofia University Saint Kliment Ohridski, President Plevneliev’s speech regards many topics which could hardly relate to the authority of the Presidential institution.

“President Plevneliev outlined a very ambitious program and presented eight challenges he must face. In my view, he missed two important topics related to the role of the President in a Parliamentary republic. He forgot to mention how the Presidential institution communicates with the local government and the National Assembly, especially against the backdrop of the scandals that erupted in the past few weeks. He mentioned absolutely nothing about the political parties in Bulgaria. However, the political will of the Bulgarian citizens is in fact fulfilled through these parties, rather than through referendums only. His report was extremely optimistic. He was talking about enormous economic and technical upsurge. However, he said nothing about a topic he usually avoids - the social situation in Bulgaria - the poverty, the problems related to social exclusion, ethnical problems, and other issues which raise many concerns.”

Political expert Georgi Harizanov from the Institute for Rightist Policy commented that talking from first person singular regarding the authority of the Presidential institution sometimes makes a rather strange impression.

“On the other hand, we must admit that President Plevneliev pointed out that the change of Bulgaria’s priorities in the power engineering field was his personal contribution. Apart from the referendums we can name other positive elements such as the fact that Bulgaria escaped from the foreign political isolation we witnessed in 2013 and 2014, as well as the country’s active stand taken on various international issues.”

“The EU and Bulgaria are facing the challenge to solve many crises and each one of them can make Europe weaker”, Bulgaria’s head of state pointed out. Plevneliev mentioned the refugee crisis, the financial crisis, the Greek and the Ukrainian crises, the terrorist threat and the threat posed on the Schengen Area.

“I did not keep silence about the acts of the Russian government regarding the Ukrainian crisis. I pay respect to the Russian people, culture, science and human achievements, but Kremlin’s policy regarding the Ukrainian crisis contradicts to the international legal order. I disapprove of the establishment of frozen conflicts and of the return of policies of great powers and spheres of influence.”

Political expert Boris Popivanov commented the firm position of Bulgaria’s head of state on the Ukrainian crisis:

“President Plevneliev attacked Russia twice in his speech. Perhaps, he does not render an account of the changes in leading EU states and the search of a broader cooperation with Russia on topics related to terrorism, the Middle East and the search of a progress in the Minsk agreements. I am not sure whether the firm stand of the country’s head of state in such situation is appropriate. I think it proves that President Plevneliev does not feel comfortable in his “constitutional clothes” and tries to exercise influence trampling upon the peculiarity of the political topic in Bulgaria.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov