Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova made a surprising appearance at Tuesday's main ceremony in Plovdiv marking the anniversary of the 1885 Unification of Eastern Rumelia and the Principality of Bulgaria, SegaBG.com reports. The website notes that Mitrofanova stood among the guests of honour, very close to President Rumen Radev. It was unclear who had invited her, whether the President or Plovdiv Mayor Zdravko Dimitrov, but she occupied a central position. Her presence at the ceremony was reprehensible for two reasons: Russia was opposed to the Unification back in 1885, and nowadays the country which Mitrofanova represents declared Bulgaria an enemy at the very beginning of the war in Ukraine, the website says.
Strange speeches were delivered at the Unification ceremony in Bulgaria's second-largest city, the story also says. Metropolitan Nikolai of Plovdiv, who recently awarded the non-canonical title of Archon to Russia's Honorary Consul in Bulgaria Georgi Gergov, took the opportunity to describe Western education as harmful. For his part, President Radev made no mention of Russia's harmful historical role either then or now. (This is the top story on MediaPool.bg.)
Metropolitan Nikolai's speech is also covered in 24 Chasa, which says that his reference to the Bulgarians who, after studying in the West, showed contempt for "things Bulgarian" and "readiness to force their knowledge upon others by using the methods of the Inquisition", piqued "the Harvards" in the previously ruling Continue the Change party and they walked out of the ceremony, obviously recognizing themselves in Nikolai's words.
According to SegaBG.com, the Russian Embassy in Sofia, instead of greeting the Bulgarians on their holiday like other diplomatic missions, used Facebook to lash out, in bad Bulgarian, at yet another act of desecration of the Soviet Army Monument in downtown Sofia.
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European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson expects Bulgaria to join the full suspension of the Visa Facilitation Agreement with Russia, proposed by the European Commission on Tuesday, MediaPool.bg reports. Johansson explained that the proposal concerns Schengen visas, but she expects that the EU member states which are not yet part of the Schengen area will implement the proposed changes. The measure was prompted by the Ukraine war and will be in force for as long as necessary.
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Turkish national Mustafa Goktas will remain in 40-day custody in Bulgaria pending a decision on his possible extradition to Turkey, Trud says, quoting a ruling by the District Court in Haskovo, Southern Bulgaria. The 63-year-old retired colonel is charged with the shooting death of famous Turkish writer Necip Hablemitoglu. It is believed that the assassination was organized by FETO, a name used by Ankara to refer to exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen's organization, which the Turkish authorities say was behind the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
POLITICS
An apparent shift in the tactics of the Continue the Change party is discussed in one of the top stories on SegaBG.com. The website recalls that at the time of its formal establishment as a political party in April, Continue the Change said it would be a "cloud party" residing mainly on the Internet rather than building "obsolete hierarchies", and would even function without grassroots chapters. At present, however, Continue the Change is setting up chapters even in small settlements, electing coordinators and recruiting paid staff. All these are elements of conventional party life which are indispensable for an entity that is preparing to run in the October 2 early parliamentary elections and next year's local elections, the story goes.
The process is most visible in the coastal region of Varna. The same is happening in other regions too, although no information is available in the public domain. The website has learned that in the northern Pleven Region the party is looking to hire people to work eight hours a day for a monthly wage of about BGN 1,000. The paid staff will help build grassroots chapters and will assist in the elections. According to some sources, the recruitment is proceeding in the usual way for the conventional parties, by using the services of election-savvy locals who are also working for other parties.
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During Unification Day observances in the southern town of Saedinenie, Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Kornelia Ninova said: "We can determine our future by ourselves without letting someone on the outside to choose our path for us, as our ancestors showed 137 years ago." The quote opens the main story in Duma. Candidates from the BSP for Bulgaria coalition for the October 2 elections participated in the Unification Day celebrations. After helping to clear up the ravages of recent flooding in the nearby Karlovo area, the Socialists launched fundraising campaigns in support of those affected by the disaster.
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The prices of textbooks, school aids, implements and clothes have increased by between 40% and 50% ahead of the new school year, which, for most school-goers in Bulgaria, begins on September 15, according to the main story in Trud. This has caused parents to seek ways to patch up the family budget. Some of them are taking out fast credits, others go for special payment plans. Loans for starting the school year usually vary between BGN 500 and BGN 1,000. In the seaside city of Varna, second-hand school uniforms and textbooks are in great demand as parents struggle to cope with their increased expenses.
ECONOMY
Maya Manolova, leader of the Rise Up Bulgaria party, said in the bTV studio that after they talked with Energy Minister Rossen Hristov, he urged the Lukoil Neftochim refinery to cut the prices of petrol and diesel fuel. Manolova said that higher fuel prices are pushing inflation up. Discussing the recent flooding in the Karlovo area, she said that the causes of the disaster should be identified, and it should be made clear whether anyone has been punished. "The people in Karavelovo and Bogdan are convinced that it was a matter of uncontrolled logging which practically ruined the forest above the villages," Manolova said.
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The Mayor of Slatina, one of the worst-affected villages in the flood-hit Karlovo area in Central Bulgaria, told BNT1, the main channel of Bulgarian National Television, that it will take several months until life returns to normal for the local community. Large amounts of food, water, spades and gloves were delivered to Slatina on Tuesday, Mayor Petar Delkov said. Over 40 volunteers helped clear the aftermath of the flood. Four bridges need to be restored. The most urgent task is to channel the water back into the riverbed, which will allow the streets to be cleared of the sediment.
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"Bulgaria Faces Debt Abyss, Loans Will Grow Faster than Economy," caps an analysis by economist Vladimir Sirkarov in 24 Chasa. According to Sirkarov, experts say the situation in Bulgaria is not grim at all, but the truth is quite different. The government is sinking ever deeper into debt as it needs to cover its large expenses. This is mainly due to an unreasonable fiscal policy of spending more than one can earn, the analyst says. A medium-term macroeconomic forecast (2023-2025) unveiled recently by Finance Minister Rossitsa Velkova clearly shows that Bulgaria's fiscal stability is at risk, he says.
On a positive note, Bulgarian businesses manage to survive despite the serious challenges, Sirkarov goes on to say. This comes at the cost of using up all financial cushions and planned capacity cuts, but it disproves the widespread notion that Bulgaria lacks a resilient private sector. It must be understood that more problems await the economy in the winter, so it is necessary to plan effective measures to mitigate them. The banking system is stable, which is very important in a situation close to "the perfect storm". The labour market is steady for now as well, but employment may plummet after the summer, the analyst warns.
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Access to medicines for seriously ill and elderly patients resident in smaller settlements is ensured beyond November 1 after caretaker Health Minister Asen Medzhidiev decided to allow doctors to choose whether to issue so-called white prescriptions on paper or electronically, 24 Chasa reports in its main story. White prescriptions are those issued for non-narcotic medicines. Up until now, a government ordinance envisaged that all prescriptions in Bulgaria should be issued electronically after November 1. This would cause a problem with the issuance of prescriptions during home visits to seriously ill or elderly patients if the electronic prescription system breaks down or Internet connection is poor.
Medzhidiev heeded GPs' grievances and decided to keep both options. But the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is not happy with the revision of the decision. According to former NHIF Supervisory Board director Vasil Pandov, it is a major step back in the field of electronic healthcare. "The possibility not to issue a prescription electronically makes it impossible to compile a comprehensive electronic file on the patient and will cause medical specialists trouble in choosing a new therapy or administering an anesthetic, among other activities," Pandov said in a Facebook post.