Reuters: Bulgaria PM Reveals Aspirations of Holding On to Power

Bulgaria's Prime Minister declared in a Reuters interview Sunday that his party must win the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

According to the Bulgarian news agency BGNES, the PM and leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Sergey Stanishev, told the Reuters reporter in Sofia, the victory would be crucial in order to hinder the opposition's dangerous economic plans.

In the interview, Stanishev explains that it was the Socialists' responsibility to win the elections due to the serious risks related to the politics, the behavior and the interests of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party. GERB's political program is contradictory and dangerous; it provides for mass income increase along with sharp tax cuts, Stanishev points out.

Reuters notes that GERB, whose informal leader is Sofia's Mayor, Boyko Borisov, is leading BSP in the polls while, with the approaching summer elections, public discontent is fueled by the global financial crisis and over 80% of those polled say they want the Cabinet to fall from power.

The Reuters article further talks about the Socialists' reactions to the crisis with pouring huge amounts of money to create new jobs, increase retirement pensions, offer free vacations to retirees along with welfare assistance, adding that Bulgarians remain disappointed and place all their hopes on Borisov.

Experts and diplomats believe Stanishev lacks the political will to brake ties among politicians, magistrates and criminal bosses, which are the root of the problem, according to the Reuters reporter.

The European Union (EU) punished Bulgaria for its failure to fight corruption and organized crime by freezing EUR millions from the European funds. Until now the country has not sentenced even one high ranking State employee over corruption practices and only one crime boss is behind bars, Reuters reminds .

In the interview, Stanishev expresses his regrets over not being able to make enough to prepare the country to use the EU funds effectively, adding the Cabinet made huge efforts to deal with weaknesses and omissions.

When asked by Reuters why no one had been fired or punished over the blocking of EU funds, the PM says such move would bring only short-term political dividends without any long-term results.

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