/ world today news/ Antoaneta Kiselincheva’s interview with the journalist Viza Nedyalkova
How will you comment on the casting of Boyko Borisov in the race for UN Secretary General and the excesses surrounding Kristalina Georgieva? Is this ignorance, incompetence and underestimation of the diplomatic situation or are there other reasons for the failure of the Bulgarian government?
There was a very long push that lasted nearly two years. Therefore, the explanation that Kristalina Georgieva’s failure was due to the fact that she joined five days before the end of the competition is especially funny. It is known that even two years ago, she called her then fellow MEP and now lobbyist, the Portuguese Mario David. This is the main partner in the campaign of Kristalina Georgieva and is the person who was challenging Albania to raise her. Then the Albanians gave us a lesson in diplomacy and said that they cannot do something that has not been done for 70 years in the UN. Now he tells how Kristalina Georgieva called him and said: Mario, what do you say we get rid of this communist? It’s very funny, because these people, who fought madly against Bokova, now got a former chairman of the Socialist International, who was waving a bouquet of Buzludzha, as the Secretary General of the United Nations.
So the idea for the appearance of Kristalina Georgieva is from a long time ago. After so much has been said about her performance, about footballs, English, etc., I want to emphasize something else. What we need to see, after we have calmed down a bit, is the absolutely scandalous behavior of the European People’s Party (EPP), its meddling, intransigence, insidiousness. Even the former president of Portugal reacted to the behavior of Juncker and the rest of his circle, that it was unacceptable for the European Commission to be so biased towards one of the candidates in the race. Since the time of Barroso, when Europe slept its sweet sleep, the EPP very slowly and methodically, but aggressively, pushed its people everywhere. They imagined they could rule the world too, and that too by going through the back door! But the UN is a non-partisan organization. This shows a very low horizon of European leadership. As they sit and wonder if Britain will be followed by other countries, they should never forget that one of the reasons for Brexit is the brazen behavior of Germany. She decided to free herself from her complex of the two world wars and began to absolutely clearly lead Europe. The English cannot bear this. The EPP and the European Commission must realize themselves very quickly, because this practice will bring not only them, but also the whole of Europe to a state in which no one wants to see it.
There is also something else regarding Kristalina Georgieva’s performance. There was a truly sober assessment of the capabilities of our elite – both those who pushed it and itself as a performance. The scale is provincial and unintelligent. They deafened our ears talking about behind the scenes. And they still wonder what it is – well, what Kristalina Georgieva did was behind the scenes. She used her official post at the European Commission to go on business trips around the world. There was even a letter from one of the English conservatives to the EC about this. What kind of business trips are these to countries that have nothing to do with her portfolio? The woman was just campaigning.
Some time ago there was an interview of hers for the Bulgarian media, through which she tried to secure her back in Bulgaria, since, you know, she is not particularly active in Bulgarian political life. With this interview, she aimed to show us that she is our person, a Bulgarian. And what do you think he wanted to impress us with? By saying that wherever she goes in the world, she puts the Bulgarian costume in her suitcase. Kristalina Georgieva imagines that we here are some people who have spare clothes and in the winter walk in khakis, and that with all this she will touch us to the extreme – with her patriotism during her business trips. You can judge its level yourself!
But why did Borisov give in to the pressure of Germany and the EPP? Did they play it?
See, he gave in because the pressure was too long and the balance of interests got to the point where he gave in. In addition, Kristalina Georgieva herself threatened him. Responsible for Europe’s budget, this woman has not allocated a penny to UNESCO, where Irina Bokova is, and as we know, Europe is a big donor to such organizations. So she doesn’t give to UNESCO, but she gives to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), where she is a friend. Look, no matter how high a politician’s level is, it is no guarantee that he acts with integrity. I mean the European Commission and the fact that very soon Juncker will no longer be able to get away with just his jokes. The EPP should be silenced.
That is, the pressure and ambitions of Kristalina Georgieva proved more powerful than Borisov’s instinct for political self-preservation?
I’m watching people react to what happened and it’s like the Americans say, shoot yourself in the foot. Kristalina Georgieva is unstoppable. In Bulgaria, an impression was created for her that she goes like a knife through butter. On the other hand, the EPP wants to show that it will act as it sees fit, without regard to rational political behavior.
Let’s face it, Borisov calculated who will harm him more, who is more dangerous – Irina Bokova, who did not say a word about what was happening, or Kristalina Georgieva, together with the EPP standing behind her. What will Irina Bokova do if Borisov removes her – nothing. What will Kristalina Georgieva (Junker and the entire European mafia, because this is the family Borisov belongs to) do – yes, she will certainly do something very serious. He simply calculated this extremely simple fact.
In your opinion, is there an acquired tolerance in Bulgarian society for the scandals of the Boris government? As if any other government would not survive in such a situation…
Of course! Borisov is magical and fireproof. Whenever a really serious problem of his own making comes up, that’s when he comes up with some weird “I pee in the morning” line. This was the case with the scandals with prosecutors, wiretapping, judges, etc., when he uttered this line and the whole of Bulgaria began to discuss it. The example is very drastic, but that’s the scheme.
So Borisov has a weapon with which to put the audience to sleep?
This has been the case since the beginning. In Bulgaria it is known that things are always without consequences. See for example the case of KTB. At the moment, Borisov is very upset about “Belene”. But in the sixth month of his coming to power in 2015, when we were all wondering what the government had done in half a year, Rumyana Bachvarova came out and said: “We stopped three big energy projects – Belene NPP, South Stream and “Burgas – Alexandroupolis”. This was accounted for their 6 months of activity because at that time they were busy recruiting people. They were extremely happy to have stopped three energy projects. And then Borisov told us about communists, grandfathers, grandmothers, etc…
GERB has more than once surprised the audience with its personnel decisions and moves. From this point of view, how will you comment on the election of Tsetska Tsacheva as a presidential candidate? Do you think that in GERB there are symptoms of personnel weakness, of a lack of people suitable to occupy high government positions?
In this presidential campaign, it can be seen that all parties are struggling with their candidacies. I mean the BSP, let’s just not talk about the reformers… But their ridiculousness is overshadowed by Tsetska Tsacheva. DPS and DOST traditionally do not nominate a candidate. The only success I see is the Patriotic Front and VMRO – they managed to unite and behave decently, at least until this moment. I find it extremely funny when General Radev is attacked for being a general and being red. At the same time, we see two more generals walking around – the candidate for vice president of the GERB and that of the reformers – Sabi Sabev.
Borisov always presents his candidates in a very interesting way. For example, when he was promoting Plevneliev, he said that even if he pointed, he would become president. Now, when he introduced Tsetska Tsacheva, it became clear that this is a person for whom he does not feel sorry. Because he needs this one, he needs that one, and the third one was very good and irreplaceable, so let it be Tsetska Tsacheva. I think any person would be offended if they were singled out that way. The other thing I notice is the idea being pushed about her that she is a competent lawyer. I don’t know exactly what kind of legal education is obtained at rabfak, but the first thing that Tsetska Tsacheva did in her previous term as Speaker of the National Assembly was a documented crime. She backdated a document to pre-empt a bunch of consequences. This forgery was her first move as chairman. Not to mention what he’s doing with the State Gazette, which is a felony. Other texts, other than those that have been voted, are published there. This is a state and legal unique that destroys the very fabric of statehood. And these people explain to me that Tsetska Tsacheva is competent.
Do you think that we will have a downward gradation in the presidents of GERB – Plevneliev, then Tsetska Tsacheva…?
No, Plevneliev cannot be surpassed!
He is very active because he is really looking for a job. After Kristalina Georgieva did not vacate his position as European Commissioner, he is now in a great state of trepidation and this is the reason why he has almost daily appearances. Maybe they will find him a job in NATO. I hope that Tsetska Tsacheva will show more human qualities than him, but as a professional she has shown us several times really scandalous acts.
A number of public figures, as well as some foreign media, assessed Borisov’s failure in the race for the UN as a political disaster and a great harm to Bulgaria and the EU. On the other hand, the candidacy of Tsetska Tsacheva was not accepted with admiration by the society. Do you think this is the beginning of the end of Borisov’s rule?
I have always preferred changes that come through elections rather than riots. The end began a long time ago. But Boyko Borisov has a huge clientele, which is half of the 1 million who voted for him. These are central administration, municipal administration, circles related to public procurement and distribution of European funds. The clientele of GERB is 500 thousand people and their families. How do you imagine these people will vote? In a moral aspect, the end has long come, everything is clear!
How does Tsetska Tsacheva explain her active communist past? Many analysts say that these elections are effectively “BKP vs BSP”. And when they ask her: “What did you do in the BKP?”, Tsacheva answers: “For me, the BKP was the state then.” She is one of those people who love the country – to settle somewhere there, because it is warm and safe in the country. Later, for the same Tsetska Tsacheva, the state became the UDS, and she became the UDS. Then the state became GERB and it became GERB. I don’t know if Tsacheva will become president, I doubt it. But this GERB clientele of 500 thousand people will hold Bulgaria by the neck like a vise, in the same way as the BKP nomenclature did, which is just now starting to disappear. This is the GERB nomenclature – a list of names that can do this, get that, and be rewarded with posts. They are all related by blood to power. The other half a million are fascinated by Borisov and his qualities. This man makes a very strong impression on people, not only because he talks, but because when he sees a problem, he solves it publicly in front of everyone. And people are like, Wow, this guy is just magical! Borisov is like the Armenian priest in Diyarbekir – you turn to him to solve your problems. A single person can solve the problems of the whole of Bulgaria.
What is your prediction for the presidential elections? Is there a possibility that Tsetska Tsacheva will not be elected president?
This election was rumored to be dull and boring, but it will be very interesting. As the Chinese say, God forbid you live in interesting times. But the interesting times will be for Tsetska Tsacheva and her ward general.
#scale #provincial #unintelligent
