Former Prime Minister Ivan Kostov sharply criticized the management program of “Progressive Bulgaria“ for the lack of a long-term development strategy, commenting on the political situation in a television interview for bTV this morning. According to him, the country is losing its credibility in the European Union due to deep internal division and lack of consensus on key foreign policy issues.
Lack of a clear strategy
“The program lacks an objective assessment of where Bulgaria stands in terms of its well-being and the well-being of its citizens“, Kostov told the television station.
He emphasizes that Bulgaria's membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) requires specific measures of quality of life, which are missing in the document. „We cannot talk in generalities and talk at all about the quality of development and economic development“, the former prime minister is categorical.
He is skeptical of political promises, asking rhetorically: „What exactly will be increased and by how much?“. Kostov also criticizes the government's financial policy: „To take money, to accumulate debt, to spend the money on pensioners and security personnel and this to be at the expense of the future generation... This is not a fair decision“.
Stale judicial reform
Regarding the rule of law, the former prime minister warns of attempts to politically control magistrates over the years. “I am afraid that the easiest solution that has been tried all these years is to establish control over the judiciary, rather than to reform it so that the system operates without political influence“, Kostov explains.
He expresses hope that the current administration will find the path to real changes, rather than simply changing the faces in the Supreme Judicial Council. According to him, young people are interested in a better balance between work, security and civic participation, rather than internal party conflicts.
Lagging behind in technology
On the topic of state modernization, Kostov gives the example of Estonia and Ukraine, which are significantly ahead in the introduction of e-government. „Bulgaria must open up to the fourth technological revolution“, he urges, adding that our country has specialists, but lacks political will.
According to him, it is frivolous to delay the debate on the introduction of artificial intelligence into education and administration: „Ask Yanka Takeva what to do with artificial intelligence? That is ridiculous“.
The political crisis is also having a detrimental effect on our country's international image. Kostov emphasizes that Bulgaria does not have a clear and consensual position on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. „Bulgaria does not have a strong position and authority because it is internally fragmented“, he concludes, noting that the record high number of presidential candidate pairs is a clear symptom of critically low trust in institutions.