If Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone is delayed, GERB will lose a lot and the meaning of this difficult coalition will become meaningless. It is not popular, but it has its legitimacy precisely to achieve this goal.
This was told to FOCUS by the head of the "Political Science" department at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", Prof. Svetoslav Malinov.
In his words, the coalition does not imply a clear, strong and categorical economic and budgetary policy towards entering the eurozone. "It does not mean the opposite either. And here I hope that GERB will impose its will, if of course, their intentions are honest", added Prof. Malinov.
Membership in the eurozone requires a certain financial policy, a certain deficit and strict budget parameters, he noted. "And because GERB has set this priority and GERB voters expect it to be implemented without any compromises, GERB is preparing public opinion for how difficult it will be and what unpopular measures will be taken", said Prof. Malinov.
To achieve consensus on a budget that would make our entry into the eurozone possible, all that is needed is political will and agreement to make unpopular decisions. "My fear is that the boldest and most categorical decisions will not be made. There will still be something half-hearted and there will still be tension on all fronts", the political scientist believes.
According to him, the first obstacle to the stability of the cabinet is precisely the budget. Only after its adoption can a forecast be made for its future.
According to him, GERB will have to convince the BSP, above all, of certain compromises. "The BSP has its demands and its voters. Finally, we will see something that, in my opinion, will not be able to be supported by the PP-DB", predicts Prof. Svetoslav Malinov.
Continuously increasing incomes lead to higher consumption and, accordingly, higher prices for goods and services.
"And this is exactly where governments try to solve the problem with state policy. I don't know of any that have been particularly successful with rising incomes. When there is a deep crisis, when there is COVID, truly severe shocks on international markets that violate market logic, then one can think about interfering in market principles, but at the moment we are in a very clear unfolding market logic of increasing incomes, including through the budget, and increasing prices. What else could happen?“, commented Svetoslav Malinov on food inflation and ideas for regulations in the sector.
According to him, the adoption of the budget will play a “ calming“ role in this direction.