It says something, in fact rather a lot I should say, that after the end of the communist regime in Bulgaria the Bulgarian King and Royal Family, exiled from their Fatherland and expropriated by the very same soviet-installed communist regime, have been the only public figures whose personal property is expropriated yet again via a second nationalisation of their personal estate after the one of 1947.[1]

The members of the Royal Family are the only ones whose right to restitution is removed whilst our compatriots restored their lost property and inheritance rights. At the same time it has been a public secret that masses of realty have been acquired unlawfully via “restitution” performed and executed through scheming, false claims and rogue witnesses.

Simultaneously, celebrity villains, lesser known figures of the underground world and various chicaneurs, having amassed mind-boggling wealth since the fall of Jivkov’s autocracy, today walk around not just undisturbed but are even exculpated by the judicial system. However, instead of proper investigation of visibly and less visibly dubious “restitutions” and hanky-panky deals with state or municipal property, we are busy persecuting King Simeon for property we all know very well that belonged to him and to his family, and we never even bat an eyelid when someone refers to it as “the King’s property”...

This abomination goes even further boosted by a gargantuan propaganda machine which invokes certain popular approval and is reliant on the generally widespread public ignorance of the issue.

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, compiled and published annually by The Heritage Foundation in partnership with the Wall Street Journal, Bulgaria is customary and so far sustainably sitting at the bottom of the table of the EU nations without noticeable progress over the last few years.

In the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, under “Rule of Law” we read:

"Respect for constitutional provisions securing property rights and providing for an independent judiciary is somewhat lax. The judicial system does not enforce property rights effectively, and inconsistent application of laws discourages private investment."[2]

Investors and agents of international trade and commerce across the world read it, too.

The reputable survey traditionally shows that even if Bulgaria excels and performs well above the average and better than its own overall ranking for most single categories and factors, it is the weak protection of property rights, corruption and general lack of rule of law that send us down the spiral to the lowest levels of the European rank-list. Our solution to that? Well, how about confiscating the Royal Family’s estate for a start…

Bulgaria is a beautiful country with hospitable people and full of opportunities, but until such unjust attempts on someone’s private property are being legalised via court rulings and are reaffirmed under the pressure of mass media campaigns gaining popular approval and benefiting from the general lack of knowledge and understanding of the root cause - all nothing but mere signs of corrupt and anti-European values, until private property is unprotected and justice downtrodden, Bulgaria will continue its backward journey becoming even poorer in comparison to the developed countries, and the youth of our nation will continue to leave…

Novinite.com is ready to publish other opinions on the issue.

[1] “THE FACTS REGARDING THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE ROYAL PROPERTY”, http://www.kingsimeon.bg/archive/viewcategory/id/83

[2] Country ranking for Bulgaria: Rule of Law, 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation in partnership with Wall Street Journal, http://www.heritage.org/index/country/bulgaria

The author is a former Deputy Minister of Finance and Head of the State Treasury of Bulgaria,

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bulgarian Development Bank (Encouragement Bank) 2004-06,

Alternate Governor for Bulgaria of the International Monetary Fund 2004-05, and

Founder of The Bulgarian City Club.

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