Bulgaria's Caretaker Culture Minister to Restore Meaning of Dignity, Honor

Outgoing Bulgarian Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov has passed the baton to his successor, Vladimir Penev.

Penev, appointed Culture Minister in the caretaker government by President Rosen Plevneliev, took over the post from his predecessor at an official ceremony on Wednesday.

Prof. Mila Santova was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture in the caretaker government.

In his first interview as Culture Minister, Penev, an eminent Bulgarian actor, said that he felt "startled, moved and fascinated."

Stressing that the appointment had come at a time when he was involved in intense rehearsals for theater and TV productions, Penev explained that he had accepted the challenge to test his "own sense of dignity and honor."

"In my recent interviews I said very often that the words morality, honor, and dignity were either forgotten or lost their meaning altogether in Bulgarian media discourse. Not only have these words fallen into disuse, but they no longer mean anything, both in inter-personal relations and in relations of people with the media. As I tend to get very upset over the matter, I realized that there was actually no better way of restoring the meaning and significance of these words than trying to set a personal example," Penev stated, as cited by dnevnik.bg.

Rashidov wished Penev strength and steadfastness in order to be able to do the best for Bulgarian culture in the few months until the appointment of a new government.

Rashidov pointed out that he had reported his achievements to representatives of the groups of writers, poets, and artists, at a meeting in a restaurant because he had done his best to assert their interests over the past four years in office.

"I never walked out on them through these tough times. I never betrayed the job of an artist. It is important for us to be professionals" he stated.

Stressing that the media mostly provided coverage for what the common people would find entertaining, while "the substantial things" went unreported, Rashidov told his successor that the Culture Ministry had the huge responsibility of handling "the money, the fate, and the future of thousands of Bulgarian artists."

Rashidov emphasized the reforms he had implemented, adding that he was leaving the Culture Ministry in good condition, with revived interest in Bulgarian cinema and chalga music largely abolished.