I do not wish to comment on the details surrounding the upcoming budget before I become acquainted with the specific figures, but certain facts speak clearly enough. This was stated by President Rumen Radev to the journalists gathered at the memorial service for the Archangel's Soul Day in the Military Mausoleum-Ossuary of the Central Sofia Cemetery.
The President emphasized that the ruling authorities have unhesitatingly admitted the manipulation of statistics, which, according to him, was used to justify certain inadequate decisions made over the past year. However, the debt remains a fact that will weigh on all Bulgarian citizens.
Reflecting on the atmosphere of the day, in front of the multitude of journalists and attendees, President Radev noted a specific contrast in the behavior of the authorities: "It is noticeable that they welcomed the convergence report with fanfare, but we are facing the deadline for submitting the budget with silence and lowered sails," he added, stating that this reveals the complexity of the task of concealing the budget deficit, especially in the context of the widely known exceeding of the planned 3%.
Regarding the decision to stop the export of fuels and the case with "Lukoil", President Radev defined it as a necessary but belated preventive measure. He stressed the vital importance of the government preventing both a shortage of fuels and a price shock. According to him, such a development would have an extremely negative effect on the economy, the daily life of the people, and could lead to hardly predictable consequences.
President Rumen Radev did not hide his concern about the recent reshuffling of the chairmanship in the National Assembly this week. He clearly expressed concern about the political situation, emphasizing the growing tendency of the political class to sink into a state of lawlessness. The President recalled the events surrounding the unfortunate governance reform, which introduced what he called the "house book", facilitating, according to him, the transfer of power between parties, regardless of public discontent and demands for early elections. Now, according to the President, every appointment at the head of the National Assembly seems to be aimed primarily at filling this "house book" with potential caretaker prime ministers.
Regarding the short-lived leadership of Natalia Kiseleva at the head of the National Assembly, the President emphasized that it will remain in history with the gross violation of the law by Kiseleva, specifically on the occasion of the refusal to consider his proposal for a referendum – an action performed by a professor of constitutional law.
To a journalist's question whether he intends to establish his own political party, the President categorically stated that any movements, such as "Movement "March 3", the movement for a presidential republic" and others like them, have nothing to do with him and with the presidential institution. He warned that the individuals presenting themselves as organizers of his party and collecting funds in his name are fraudsters and frontmen of the oligarchy. The President clearly stated that only a party that he personally announces could be considered his.