Bulgarian President Rumen Radev made an overview of his first year in office. On 19 January, 2017, the former air force commander, Rumen Radev and Iliana Iotova took their oath of office at the National Assembly to become President and Vice-President, with the support of over 2 million voters. One year later, the presidential institution continues to have a consistently high approval rating – at around 59 percent. Rumen Radev is top of the list of most popular politicians, Iliana Iotova is 5^th with an approval rating of around 25 percent.

Rumen Radevalso outlined the highlights in his future work:

“Bulgaria’s foreign policy must be moulded at home and upheld abroad, not the other way around. It should win friends and partners, not enemies,” said President Rumen Radev and went back to his foreign policy meetings and visits, as well the proposals he has made: “I had meetings with practically all state and government leaders in the Balkans. I laid the foundations of a normalization of relations with Russia, which are of strategic importance to Bulgaria, but also to Europe. Bulgaria must be an active presence and must support all formats for multi-lateral cooperation that are the instruments needed to preserve peace and handle the effects of spreading globalization,” the Bulgarian President said and highlighted one element in his travels abroad – his meetings with Bulgarians living abroad. “The Bulgarian state is close to each and every citizen, wherever in the world they may be living,” said Radev and went on to lay emphasis on the work of Vice President Iliana Iotova with the Bulgarian communities in other countries.

Figures show that during his first year in office, the president has promulgated 86 laws, and has vetoed 5. The Bulgarian President pointed to upholding the sovereignty and independence of Bulgaria as a special highlight in the work of the head of state.

“In my capacity of Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of Bulgaria I dedicated much of my work to consolidating the “Security” sector, which, I dare say, is in critical condition,” Rumen Radev said. He indicated that one of his failures is the fact that he has been unable to convince the government “of the urgent need to revise the national plan they adopted so as to increase defencespendings to 2 percent of the GDP by 2024, because, as it now reads, it cannot halt the processes of degradation of the defence capabilities.”

The plan will be reviewed in September, though the result is unclear, the president said.

Bulgaria has reached a critical moment in its development, the head of state said and described the start of the Bulgarian EU Presidency as ambitious. At the same time he added that it does not scratch the discussion of issues that are critical for the country – the low level of foreign investments, the depopulation of vast parts of Bulgaria and the disastrous demographic picture. Corruption and injustice are demoralizing for Bulgarian society, Rumen Radev said.

“The parliamentary republic is atrophying. Parliament is increasingly turning into a notary’s office, giving the official stamp to the decisions of the government… the approval rating of the National Assembly is at a critical low” – these words by the president reverberated across society, eliciting an immediate reaction by National Assembly President Tsveta Karayancheva, who said they were an insult.

Looking ahead at the future, President Radev said there was need of a “national effort to overcome the moral crisis in Bulgarian society,” whose offspring are corruption and crime, political apathy and the advance on freedom of speech. In this context he said he would work “for reforms in the judiciary and anti-corruption legislation to meet the high public expectations.” In the realm of foreign policy, Rumen Radev will continue his active work in the Balkans and in Europe aimed at attaining security, stability and prosperity and will endeavour to assist Bulgaria in its integration into the European structures and initiatives.

Editor: Elena Karkalanova

English version: Milena Daynova