"Progressive Bulgaria" is a response to the expectations of our society for real change, for justice and prosperity. For the common desire of all of us to live as Europeans in our own home. We believe in our millennial culture and traditions. We believe in the talent and entrepreneurship of the Bulgarian. We believe in the enormous potential of our country". This was stated in his opening speech by the leader of "Progressive Bulgaria" Rumen Radev, who presented the party's priorities in Hall 3 of the National Palace of Culture, quoted by Novini.bg.
"That is why we created "Progressive Bulgaria" as a powerful political alternative that will restore the confidence of Bulgarians in their own country and future. Our ambition is to form a government that will impose clear rules for everyone. A government that will protect public resources and create conditions for accelerated growth. One that will guarantee security, decent incomes and development prospects for every Bulgarian citizen. We have developed a complex of priorities and measures, and they are detailed in our program", he added.
"Progressive Bulgaria" will work for:
Dismantling the oligarchic model and strengthening statehood;
Maintaining peace and preventing involvement in armed conflicts;
Overcoming poverty and social exclusion and discrimination;
Accelerated and sustainable economic development and financial stability;
High technologies and artificial intelligence in all areas;
Modern infrastructure and connectivity;
Social justice and decent incomes;
A future for the youth in the Homeland;
Accessible and quality education and healthcare;
Clean environment and protection of Bulgarian nature;
Guaranteeing the security of Bulgarian citizens;
Culture - a pillar of identity and a field of spiritual development of the individual;
Sport - health and national pride;
A dignified and active Bulgaria in Europe and before the world.
Rumen Radev specified that due to the limited time, he will focus mainly on two of the main priorities: the dismantling of the oligarchic model and the accelerated economic development of the country.
"Without dismantling the oligarchic model that has taken over Bulgaria, any subsequent governance configurations and their economic and social policies will fall again and again into the hands of the oligarchy and will be doomed to failure. Without a strong economy, none of the other sectors can develop", he pointed out.
In the words of the former president, dismantling the oligarchic model is a huge challenge. “It is much more complex and comprehensive than the fight against corruption and efforts to establish the rule of law. It cannot be solved with separate actions such as corruption revelations, protests, manifestos, personnel changes and legal programs, because the Bulgarian oligarchy is deeply rooted in the social and economic life of the country, it systematically robs society and guarantees impunity through control over institutions, parties, the electoral process, the media and business. The specific figures, political names against whom Bulgarians poured out their anger in the squares at the end of last year, are only the tip of this pyramid, which has seeped deeply into all levels of state bodies and the judicial system”, Radev pointed out.
“Merely removing this top from power will not give the necessary result. Unwavering political will and determination are needed, which we have. A comprehensive program is needed with specific, consistent measures not only to dismantle, but also to prevent the institutions from being recaptured. The first and most important step is to remove the top of this pyramid from public power. And this is our main goal in these elections. The next step that we as a government will take is to cut off the oligarchy from access to public resources. This means that we will introduce strict financial control of all public spending and even in their planning. This means that we will carry out audits of key public procurements, introduce sanctions for poor quality and non-fulfilled ones. We will introduce public registers for non-performing contractors, identify the intermediaries between the top of this pyramid and the institutions that practically determine the decisions of these institutions and distribute public resources. We know who they are and we will do everything possible to shed light on their schemes and connections with the administration”, promised the leader of “Progressive Bulgaria”.
“We will make no less effort to identify the persons behind the scenes in businesses, assets and property and to prove a discrepancy with their income. We will limit regulators and monopolies. Finally, we will introduce reference values for public procurement in the construction and repair of water supply, transport and other infrastructure”, added Radev, expressing conviction that the successful implementation of these measures will free up a huge public resource.
However, this, in his words, is not enough.
“If we want our economy to develop intensively on the basis of entrepreneurship, investment and free competition, we must free business from the racket of the oligarchy”, the party leader emphasized.
“Bulgarian business is under incredible pressure, property grabbing, asset grabbing by using the conquered institutions. We will turn the game around! We will increase trust. We will stimulate business to report and we will protect it with new, healthy institutions”, Rumen Radev also pointed out.
"A decisive and active government can be the engine of the fight against corruption and oligarchy, but it cannot be its end. Therefore, it is critically important to have an effective, operational and independent Prosecutor's Office. Our primary task is to work so that in the next National Assembly there is a two-thirds majority, so that we can finally replace the Supreme Judicial Council and elect a new and legitimate Prosecutor General", he said.