/ world today news/ “I want to announce first in Bulgaria my decision not to run for the next term as PES president. The reasons for this are political. There are two conditions for holding such a high post – personal authority and the authority of the party that makes the nomination. I thank some of the members of the National Assembly of the BSP, many structures of the party in the country, the Party of Bulgarian Social Democrats, all those who in recent weeks have been looking for me with insistence to air my candidacy in order to put pressure on the leadership of the BSP. I am also grateful to other parties of the European political family who delicately offered to raise my nomination. For me, it is unacceptable for another party, other than the BSP, to nominate me as a candidate for the PES president.
Unfortunately, in recent years the BSP has lost credibility and European identity. You all know the percentages that analysts give to the party in the upcoming elections. The BSP went in a different direction – towards left conservatism. We started fighting nationalists and conservatives on their turf, and that has its consequences. By saying that my decision is political I mean that political decisions should be based on realities and have an internal logic. There is no way a party that emulates Viktor Orbán will issue a PES presidential nomination. There is an internal contradiction. That is exactly why I did not seek support from the BSP leadership for the next term.”
With these words, Sergey Stanishev opened his press conference in BTA on the occasion of the situation in Europe and the upcoming PES Congress on October 14th and 15th in Berlin.
He is the longest-serving chairman of the BSP (13 years), the longest-serving president of the PES (11 years) and the only left-wing prime minister with a full mandate in Bulgaria. He was elected 4 times as the leader of the European Socialists. In front of the media, Stanishev pointed out that “BSP is the only post-communist party from Central and Eastern Europe, which, after reforming, received the confidence to have a PES president. For a Bulgarian to be the leader of the second largest family in Europe is a great prestige for Bulgaria as well.”
“Some will probably criticize me for holding this press conference during the campaign. There is a nomination procedure in the PES and the deadline for it expired yesterday. Also, there is no awkward moment for the truth. As Bulgakov said “telling the truth is easy and pleasant”. I have informed my team at PES about my decision, as well as key figures among European prime ministers and party leaders from our family. I am happy to announce that yesterday evening the nomination of former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löven, with whom we led the fight for the European Pillar of Social Rights, arrived. He is dialogic, solid, authoritative, I am sure he will do excellently as my successor in PES. In the Swedish elections a few days ago, the Social Democrats won 28% of the vote and are one of the most authoritative parties in our family. It is legitimate for her candidacy to receive support for this position.”
“We can hardly fit 11 years into one press conference. I will make a detailed report to the PES Congress, the good news is that the left family is united and in a strong political position. Here are some of our achievements. I begin with the battle against austerity, or belt-tightening as a right-wing policy that cut all social spending. It has collapsed many societies and eaten away at their social fabric. We gradually achieved a turnaround in economic thinking and led to a revolutionary new level of integration – the common debt and the fund of 806 billion euros (Next Generation EU) to fight the consequences of the Covid crisis, which was also referred to by the President of the EC Ursula von der Leyen in his State of the Union speech. In 2019, together with Frans Timmermans as our common candidate, we ran a strong campaign and retained our second position, beating predictions of a 3rd or 4th place election. Another idea of ours – that the Green Transition be social and fair for all – is supported by parties from across the political spectrum.”
“The year I was elected (2011) we had two prime ministers from 27 member countries. Now we have six prime ministers, in another 6 governments we participate in ruling coalitions, and 9 commissioners represent the left in the EC. This is a significant institutional strength in the EC, in the EP and in the European Council, which makes us indispensable in European politics. However, the future of Europe and our political family is not cloudless. We are facing a series of crises – the energy crisis, inflation, risk of loss of competitiveness of the European economy, stagflation, danger of job losses. European citizens will expect support from the left. And if we do not respond with concrete policies and solutions, we will pay a high price at the next European elections in 2024.”
Commenting on internal political topics, the PES president indicated that he does not see an emphasis on the challenges facing Europe and Bulgaria in the campaign, but “each party speaks to itself and for itself. There is no dialogue, October 2 will pass and solutions will have to be sought for the most acute problems facing the country. At the moment, there is no national cause and consensus at least on key issues.”
Finally, Stanishev emphasized that leftist thinking and the socialist idea are optimistic in nature. “Bulgaria needs a big and strong left that can win elections and radiate governance. I think the left can be strong again. It should be a stabilizing factor for Bulgarian politics, to provide social solutions. This will be my personal cause.”
Link to the press conference:
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