The Bulgarian Parliament is increasingly turning into a “rubber stamp” for decisions made outside the country. This was stated by Kostadin Kostadinov, chairman of “Vazrazhdane”, in the bTV programme “Face to Face”, commenting on the forthcoming adoption of the state budget.
He pointed out that the budget had already been discussed in Frankfurt and Brussels before Bulgarian lawmakers had even familiarised themselves with its parameters.
“What they send us from Brussels will be something that we will have the opportunity to approve. The role of the Bulgarian National Assembly has been reduced to that of a rubber stamp,” Kostadinov said.
He also said that abandoning the Bulgarian lev had limited the country's ability to pursue an independent financial policy. The chairman of “Vazrazhdane” recalled that the political organisation had warned of these consequences, while the other political forces had been making promises about incomes without taking the real economic constraints into account.
Kostadinov stressed that the minimum wage should be increased, but that a functioning economy, rather than impossible political promises, was needed for sustainable income growth.
The discussion also touched on the election of a new Supreme Judicial Council. Kostadinov said that Bulgarian politics suffered from “negative selection”, in which political loyalty, rather than professionalism, often prevailed.
“Usually, it is not the best one who wins, but the most loyal one,” he stressed, expressing hope that the forthcoming election would help curb dependencies and closed circles of influence in the judiciary.
“Vazrazhdane” insists that Bulgaria should have a real opportunity to determine its financial priorities independently and that the judiciary should be free from political and corporate dependencies.