Embattled Bulgarian PM Vows to Persevere for Country's Good
It is vital that cabinet continue its efforts to normalize political life and boost the economy of Bulgaria, argued Bulgarian PM Plamen Oresharski.
Friday evening Oresharski addressed a conference of center-left ruling coalition MPs and cabinet ministers, who have assembled on a policy retreat in winter resort Borovets.
"Six months have passed from the beginning of the hardest term in office in recent Bulgarian history. A start marked by a difficult to understand resistance on the part of parties that did not make it to power," reflected the PM.
"The hard part is over. Now starts the harder part," ran an aphoristic turn in his speech.
According to Oresharski, Bulgarians have in the past month witnessed "a yet unknown stimulated aggression in society."
Starting on June 14, the then new cabinet faced major street protest after the controversial appointment of media mogul Delyan Peevski for head of national security.
Peevski resigned, but protests lingered, dwindling over the summer, but coming back to life in early November after a student occupation at Sofia University.
"Division was actively supported by a hostile media environment which constantly presented street protests as especially dramatic even on days when the number of protesters was just some 100-150 people," stated Oresharski.
He attributed part of the bad political and social climate on residues remaining from the rule of the previous cabinet, chaired by center-right party GERB leader Boyko Borisov.
"Upon taking the reins of the country, we were aware of the deep institutional crisis, the economic depression and the deepening disintegration of society," said the Bulgarian PM.
"This requires from us enormous amounts of determination, patience, tolerance and constructiveness,'' added he.
According to Oresharski, for the past six months his cabinet has been moderately successful in stopping some bad tendencies, such as institutional insecurity in citizens and businesses.
He also singled out getting into order payments from the state budget to private companies, as well as a boost in social spending.
Oresharski added that the cabinet will continue its efforts to create a better business climate, in particular conditions for more effective competition.
The PM was critical of what he sees as a comparative lack of sufficient internal coordination in the ruling coalition, and a "conceptual inadequacy" in some areas.
"2014 will be decisive for it will be the first year financially planned by this cabinet. We do not have the right to draw back, for what is at stake is the future of our country," stated Oresharski.
At the Borovets meeting, Bulgarian Socialist Party and Movement for Rights and Freedoms MPs and cabinet ministers will discuss key policy topics such as the rule of law, increasing refugee influx, youth unemployment and the energy sector.
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