The June 9 election is already on the doorstep… Who will be first, what will be the strength of the second, what we heard from the candidates for deputies, what we remembered… Tsoncho Ganev, deputy chairman of “Vazrazhdane", spoke to FAKTI.
- Mr. Ganev, will you be the deputy speaker of the National Assembly again? “Revival“ will be part of the next parliament, and the question is whether you will also be the possible second political force?
- These elections are key for Bulgaria, for Bulgarian history at the moment, because the world – and Europe in particular, are facing World War III. What lies ahead in these elections is for the Bulgarian people to decide whether our country will be included in the military conflict or whether we will keep the peace. Voters must know that there are two alternatives - war if we continue to be ruled by Euro-Atlanticists, or peace if they choose “Revival” and we become the first political power. What we have as results, which sociology also shows, is that “Revival“ at the moment it is the second political power. However, the sociological agencies themselves say that there are some 60,000 Bulgarians who have declared that they will vote, but they do not say for whom. So the results of “Revival“ depend entirely and solely on the voter, on the Bulgarian people and what he chooses, how he chooses to live.
As for whether I, or anyone else from “Revival” will take some post - it doesn't matter at all. And this is because the voters of “Revival“ vote for the policies we defend. Whether any of us will take a post in the civil service somewhere, believe me, that is not important. Results matter. It is important for Bulgaria to start on a new path and to say that it can no longer be like this.
- We are talking about “Revival“ as a second political force, and that means the president handing you a mandate if the first one fails. How will you react, what will happen…
- If "Vazrazhdane" is given a mandate, we will propose a cabinet composition. We are working to be the first political force. We are fighting for the trust of the Bulgarian people, and our results in successive elections will not simply be a negation of the previous ones, because the voters are disappointed by someone else, but will be a positive vote for us, because we defend everything we say before the elections. Then we cover it with our deeds. So what we work for, what we believe in and strive for is to become the first political force. We have a certain program, we have people to implement this program, we have a vision for the development of our country, we have partners with whom we will work even at the international level to improve things in Bulgaria.
- We accept that you have a mandate in your hands, but with whom you will govern, some configuration will be sought…
- What is coming in the new parliament is what we have done in the previous ones – namely, we will hold talks with everyone except DPS,
because DPS is not a party, but a criminal organization that should simply be banned in Bulgaria.
We are holding talks because we have a program, we will put it on the agenda for all parties. We will seek support for specific policies that relate to national priorities. I give examples. We would like two referendums to be implemented that affect our future - both in the Eurozone and in NATO.
The Bulgarian citizen must decide whether this thing should continue. We will immediately start the appointment of a negotiating team to lead a conversation about our future in the European Union and under what conditions we will continue to be a member of this European Union, because if these conditions of our membership in the EU are not changed, we must let's put on the agenda the question of whether we should be part of this European Union at all. Last but not least, as a priority for Bulgaria, as a country, I emphasize as a country, is that we want‚ the next government of Bulgaria to declare before all international institutions that it stops sending any military aid, in any form - neither instructors, nor military equipment, nor weapons, to Ukraine. And this is so as to avoid involving Bulgaria in the war.
- You are traveling the country. Will there be a high voter turnout or will it be low? What are the attitudes?
- One of the great mantras that have been explained to us in recent years is that the Bulgarian is tired of voting and therefore does not go to vote. The truth is that the Bulgarian does not vote because he is tired of trusting those who want to win his trust. Precisely because of this, the greatest achievement of “Revival” in the parliament, it is not the laws that we proposed, as well as all the changes that were voted and approved by the other political parties, following our proposals, but that we are a political force that fulfills its commitments. And, yes, we are gaining the trust of more and more Bulgarians thanks to our consistent policy in the parliament, and even a little less we are starting to raise voter turnout. I cannot say whether it will be low or high, but I know that it is of key importance. If we have a high voter turnout, it doesn't matter at all how much the bought vote will be. It doesn't matter what the corporate vote will be or the vote that will come from Turkey. With a very high voter turnout - if we have a turnout between 80 and 90%, GERB will struggle to enter the parliament, DPS simply won't have them. And then we will already have a completely new Bulgaria. Both throughout the country and in Sofia, people want consistency, and we, from "Vazrazhdane", give it to them because we protect national interests.
- What you heard and saw in this campaign. What will you remember her by…
- I will remember her with only one thing - there is no district, no city in the entire country, in which from “Revival” that we were not everyday among people. There is no village that we have not visited at least a few times, even if there are two or three people living there, and it is in the depopulated areas. Wherever we have gone, we have introduced all these Bulgarians to what we intend to do and how to achieve these goals when we start governing the country. What I will remember this campaign with is that “Revival“ was in all the towns and villages of the country throughout the campaign.
- We mentioned the war in Ukraine, President Radev also commented on it, we talk about what and how we will do, and every politician promises. But we don't hear talk about a huge problem for Bulgaria – the demographic crisis. How do you view the issue of “Revival“…
- In the medium and long term, this is really the biggest problem facing Bulgaria. But let's not forget that dragging our country into war can make everything fade away, and that's a real danger. But to the question. At present, looking forward, there is much that can be done to begin solving the demographic crisis. From “Revival“ we have a specific program to solve the demographic crisis and here is the time to say that in order to start solving the demographic crisis, many different policies must be
implemented by the rulers. Not only to give money for children's, to give the possibility of tax breaks for those who have two children, etc. It will not work this way. It's a piecemeal job. This is not the right policy. In order to have a real solution to the demographic crisis, we need to start fixing our agriculture by region, to fix our economy as a whole, to create conditions and security for young families to start wanting more children. We need to create such conditions that we can offer people who today are diaspora somewhere, who have evacuated outside of Bulgaria, or those who were born abroad, to start wanting to return to our country, to love Bulgaria. Solving the demographic crisis is something from which there is no way - whoever wants to rule, can escape. And a lot of work needs to be done to solve this problem.
- Will there be a new “assembly“ after the vote, or we go to new elections…
- The possibility of new elections after these elections is quite real. Whether there will be new elections to come, which will soon revise those of June 9, that will be decided by the Bulgarian voter. If he doesn't vote en masse, if he doesn't come out, if he doesn't express his vote, if he again gives confidence to Euro-Atlantic parties to make an unprincipled “assembly“ in which we will not participate, things will not change.
We have nothing to do with these political entities that were harmful to Bulgaria and ruled until recently.
We have priorities for the good future of Bulgaria. And I say again - our voters expect us to defend specific policies and that is why we are going to the next National Assembly. In all conversations to which we will be invited for support, we will want the clear realization of our priorities. So, going to the polls on June 9 and supporting “Revival”, people should know that they are supporting Bulgaria to be a secure and prosperous country.