Bulgaria Ex-Finance Minister Attacks Budget 2010

Bulgaria's former Finance Minister, Plamen Oresharski, launched Friday a critical attack on the budget 2010 approved by the new cabinet this week.

Oresharski, who spoke during the morning block of the TV channel PRO.BG, said the budget has no goals or policies.

“It says inside they will slate more money for health care, ecology, infrastructure, education... When there are too many priorities – there isn't a priority,” Oresharski is quoted as saying, but he gave higher marks to the cabinet's efforts to balance the budget.

The former Finance Minister pointed out that this is the time when the government could introduce reforms since it enjoyes strong public support.

Oresharski further said the only success of the new cabinet so far are the audits with all ministers becoming auditors, which “for some time would be a good excuse for their inactivity.”

The former Minister voiced his opinion that the previous cabinet of Prime Minister and Socialist leader, Sergey Stanishev, had one of the most successful terms since 1989 and the accusations that it bankrupted the country were a pure propaganda cliché, adding just two days ago, an official European report on public finances ranked Bulgaria among the top 5 EU Member States.

Oresharski further showed skepticism towards the unfreezing of the EU funds and criticized the idea of now Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, to drastically increase the cigarette excise, echoing others who say it would just increase the contraband.

The former Finance Minister also believed the new cabinet is pushing foreign investors out of the country by creating an uncertain investment climate.

“What would you think when they first tell you the fiscal reserve will be deposited in a commercial bank and two days later that it won't happen. The withdrawal of the German RWE from the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project is this similar of the way many Bulgarians lost money by investing in pyramid schemes,” Oresharski said, adding the new rulers need to first learn the theoretical business principles and then apply them in reality.