Vice President Iotova: 'Never Before Has a State Budget Been Drafted with Such a Lack of Dialogue

Vice President Iliana Iotova on November 26 wrote on Facebook that “never before has a state budget been drafted with such a lack of dialogue, without the government listening to expert opinions and proposals.” She described the authorities’ attitude as arrogant—not only towards political opponents, but also towards businesses, social partners and civil society.

According to her, with dialogue and willingness, the budget could have looked very different.

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“I do not believe the mantra that this is the only possible budget. Better formulas could have been found, for example, to avoid suffocating small and medium-sized businesses. The timeframe for adopting the budget was shortened in an unprecedented way. It is obvious that the authorities want to mislead Bulgarian citizens and present us with a fait accompli. The protests against the budget are a natural consequence of the government’s behaviour. I support this protest,” Iotova added.

She stressed that it is clear the deficit is larger than the figure officially reported by the Ministry of Finance.

“This was also indicated—albeit rather delicately at this stage—by the European Commission. Inflation is galloping, the government cannot cope with rising prices, and we are struggling to meet even our most basic needs. I share the opinion of those who say the authorities are gathering funds for elections. They are trying to use the budget to resolve issues such as the concession for the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator (the lottery) or the sale of Lukoil’s Bulgarian operations. The key questions are: whose pocket will the concession money end up in, and who will buy Lukoil? Will we, the Bulgarian citizens, be informed beforehand? There is a clear push to nationalise Lukoil in Bulgaria through the Bulgarian Development Bank. The question remains whose hand will ultimately tighten its grip on this strategically important enterprise, which is also part of our national security,” Iotova stated.