„There are many left-thinking people in Bulgaria. There are many people who need left-wing policies, and it is precisely to them that we owe real and effective left-wing solutions. Therefore, we must show that the BSP is a contemporary, modern party that can defend their interests.“
This was what the deputy chairman of the BSP and candidate for chairman of the party, Christian Vigenin, told Euronews Bulgaria.
He makes it his priority to open the party to various professional groups, to trade unions, to intellectual and academic circles. “If we can do this, we can achieve a different image of the BSP“, said Vigenin. “My program for changes in the BSP is based on the problems that I know very well and I propose working solutions. I propose an ideological return to the roots of left-wing politics after a discussion throughout the party“, he emphasized.
In his program, which Christian Vigenin published two weeks ago and discussed with socialists from all over the country, he intends to prevent the party from being dependent on large donors, as well as to guarantee more funding for local structures so that they can be more active and implement their own initiatives.
“I am optimistic that there is awareness among the socialists of the necessary changes. I intend to create a strong team with two important tasks – to preserve the party's face in the government, in which only the BSP is a left-wing formation, and to impose our left-wing policies, because we do not participate in power only for positions“, emphasized Christian Vigenin. He believes that the consolidation of the left that began in the summer must continue and develop. Vigenin appreciates the good tone in which the race for the chairmanship of the BSP is currently taking place: “We need to end the internal conflicts. I am ready to lend a hand to everyone who has working ideas for the party.“ He once again reminded that it is good for the BSP to maintain direct elections, but a decision may be made for the congress to have the opportunity to dismiss the chairman.
Christian Vigenin reminded that without a working economy, there cannot be a strong social policy. That is why he defends the cause of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises at the European level: “Small and medium-sized businesses need our support. Especially in small municipalities, they create the environment for life. At the national level, decisions and initiatives are also needed to support them.“
On the topic of this year's budget, the presidential candidate is of the opinion that reserves should be sought to increase revenues: “We must not allow the most vulnerable to pay the price for the irresponsible financial policy so far. If the commitments to pensioners and the socially vulnerable are fulfilled, their income will go to the shops - the money enters the Bulgarian economy through domestic consumption. The budget is a tool for making policy, we should not look at it as accounting accounts.“
The election of Donald Trump as US President Christian Vigenin accepts as an opportunity - the EU to seek internal consolidation, to increase its own power and weight, to invest in its economy. Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, he believes it is necessary to seek diplomatic solutions to achieve peace, so that Europe does not end up paying the price of an ongoing war.