The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East is already having a serious impact on global markets. A significant part of the oil production infrastructure has been damaged, which will keep fuel prices high in the long term, even with a possible quick cessation of hostilities.
This was announced by Krum Zarkov, leader of the BSP, in the special pre-election edition of the program “120 minutes“.
According to him, the increase in fuel prices creates an economic “spiral“ that affects all sectors and leads to the impoverishment of the population. According to him, hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians could find themselves in an even worse financial situation.
The BSP is demanding immediate measures, including reducing excise taxes on fuel and introducing price limits, following the example of other countries in the European Union. Zarkov criticized the approach of increasing budget revenues, which would subsequently be returned in the form of compensation, describing it as ineffective.
In the interview, Zarkov also emphasized the need for reform of the tax system. According to him, the current model, introduced with the flat tax, has led to the richer ones actually paying a smaller relative share. The leader of the left said that the BSP will work to repeal the flat tax and introduce a fairer, progressive system with a non-taxable minimum for people with lower incomes.
He acknowledged that it was the BSP that introduced the flat tax in the past, but emphasized that the expected benefits – as attracting investments, were exhausted more than a decade ago.
Zarkov also touched on the topic of the judicial system, describing as “untolerable“ the lack of transparency in cases involving senior magistrates. He called for an active role for political parties in clarifying such cases and insisted on the immediate launch of procedures in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
As priority actions upon entering parliament, he indicated reform of the SJC and an investigation into key scandals related to alleged dependencies between politicians and magistrates.
With regard to international conflicts, Zarkov stated that there is no “good war“ and supported the position for an immediate cessation of hostilities, emphasizing that efforts should be directed first at stopping the destruction and casualties, and then at seeking accountability.