THE idyllic relations between the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) are starting to crack following the classical mafioso principle, “nothing personal, just business”.
Even if the coalition does not disintegrate, the scandal with the EU funds showed the expanded political horizons the two ruling parties can face.
It turned out that the platforms and the populist talks had been hiding those very same aspirations in the persons of Ahmed Dogan and Simeon Saxe-Coburg. Not the one aimed at “improving the quality of Bulgaria’s life standards” through the encouragement of Bulgarian production and business, but through the reallocation of an external resource such as the EU funds. The entire liberal, social and centrist pathos of the NMSII – MRF coalition has been circulating around the control over the flow of Euro-money for infrastructural projects and agriculture.
Several hundred million euros have been in the way of putting on the edge of the knife the all-time balancer Dogan and the ex-king. Brussels headquarters said the resources should pass through the Ministry of Finance for purposes of easier accounting. The MRF leader, however, felt immediately under threat. What rights and what freedoms are possible without money? How will he continue to lie to voters if he cannot disburse his diligent subordinates some of that Euro-money? And how will Dogan win the battle for the rule of the MRF party if he has no opportunity to distribute sweet chunks of money?
These are the fundamental Euro-Atlantic, liberal and social-economic problems that hover in the mind of the leader of the Turkish minority party. Not how to develop a functioning Bulgarian economy and agriculture, but rather who will disburse the resources for the Sofia Airport and who will be the subcontractor to take the commission. Not how to revive the slack Bulgarian output, but rather who of the functionaries in the party will be entitled to a part of the EU tranche so that to lure local activists confused by the Dogan – Oktai face off.
If one accounts for the fact that Dogan has people on all levels of power, if one also adds that in his regions non-Turkish speaking Bulgarians have been let go, as well as the invigorated purchase of property and land by Turkish citizens through third parties, one sees a worrying picture. The preparation of land registers has been done by Agriculture Minister Mehmed Dikme, as a result of which the sales of the best Bulgarian land to guests of their own and others have been mulled with renewed passion.
Within two years, an artificial anti-constitutional party such as the MRF will define all issues vital for Bulgaria with the cooperation of the entire current political elite. Something more, the NMSII today lays the basis for ethnic discrimination against Bulgarians in Bulgaria. Because it allowed the propaganda that Turkish-speaking minorities live badly.
It is not true! People on the entire territory of Bulgaria have been living badly. The one who gave privileges and preference to one region to the detriment of another, has been carrying out a discriminating policy. The party of Saxe-Coburg did that with its passivity and the lightness with which it endorsed the artificial division of the country and each MRF ultimatum. And the worst here is that today’s family scandal is not the result of a turnaround or a nationally responsible policy on the part of the NMSII. This is just a kitchen quarrel on who will control the rich auntie’s money jar hidden in the closet.
Instead of conducting the revival of Bulgarian production economic policy, the NMSII, just like Dogan, is waiting for the EU charity and is depending on them for their stay in power.
The problem is that the charities are scarce and the hungry Bulgarians – many, while the clientelism will not last forever. To this, it does not contract, but rather prolongs the life of the ruling majority.
Take an example, the “most successful Cabinet of Kostov,” who instead of celebrating its triumph, was kicked out by voters for the very same reason that it reallocated money among cousins without ever generating new.
Monitor
BTC – Last Try
The third large privatisation deal of new times, the sale of BTC, has been launched. After the rescue of the Varna Shipyard through the state-owned fleet and the vague conditions of the Bulgartabak deal, the telecom bid with an option for a purchase of the third GSM licence is the next trial for the market-oriented thinking. The two big deals received no more than polite attention and zero number of offers from strategic investors, which is a clear signal there has been something rotten in the privatisation strategies.
To start out, the Government will have to swallow yet another bitter pill, the expected low price due the obsolete equipment and its redundant personnel. The pressure from the international financial institutions and the foreign investment gap, however, come to tell that by the end of the year Bulgaria will say its final goodbye to the state government of the BTC. Still, there is an interest in the deal. From now on, the Government of the National Movement Simeon II does not need to do much. This is just a deal without any vague conditions for the third GSM licence and posing no barriers to the future free market and with clear regulations on the prices of tomorrow.
Kapital
