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POLIT-BAROMETER the Country’S Reputation

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POLIT-BAROMETER the Country’S Reputation ANALYSE DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS The scandals involving Prime Minister Borisov have been causing further damage to POLIT-BAROMETER the country’s reputation. Year 20 Issue 5 Recent events have shown June 2020 that a number of fundamen- tal EU values such as the rule of law, freedom of speech and media, and the separa- tion of powers have been se- Georgi Karasimeonov (Ed.) verely damaged in Bulgaria, and the silence of the EU is not well received by demo- cratic spheres in the country. Political upheaval is on the cards in the coming months, because the expectation is that revelations about the government will continue. FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG – POLIT-BAROMETER DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS POLIT-BAROMETER Year 20 Issue 5 June 2020 CONTENTS Contents 1. THE POLITICAL SITUATION 2 2. CONDITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARTY SYSTEM 6 3. PUBLIC OPINION 8 4. MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND FORECASTS 9 1 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG – POLIT-BAROMETER 1 THE POLITICAL SITUATION The political situation in June was determined mainly by club Levski (Sofia) - which was in dire straits financially - political-criminal plots. A series of scandals dealt a severe saying he only wanted to be a general sponsor, but was blow to the reputation of the ruling party GERB, and to pushed into buying the team after pressure and threats that of Prime Minister Borisov personally. The contradicto- against his business. According to Bozhkov, in September ry reactions of the prosecution to the scandals once again 2019 he received an offer for the purchase of his business raise the question of its objectivity and the lack of rule of from the SAZKA group, which had become the proper- law in Bulgaria. ty of Boyko Borisov and Vladislav Goranov. Bozhkov was summoned to a meeting with Goranov, during which the Vasil Bozhkov, a businessman in hiding in Dubai, accused finance minister told him that he should transfer the ma- Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Finance Minister Vladislav jority shares in his gambling companies to an entity of his Goranov and National Assembly budget committee chair- choice. After Bozhkov’s refusal came the actions of the man Menda Stoyanova of racketeering, extortion, abuse of prosecutor’s office and charges being filed against him. power and corruption. Bozhkov stated that after a conver- sation with Prime Minister Borisov in November 2014, he Bozhkov stated on his Facebook page that he described was sent to talk to Menda Stoyanova from GERB in order to these facts in a signal sent to the prosecutor’s office. He said find a solution to his problem with the taxation of the gam- that he could provide evidence for each of his allegations - bling business. According to Bozhkov, Menda Stoyanova witnesses, photos, text messages and recordings. Borisov stated that they would repeal the old provisions in the law and Goranov said that this was a defensive strategy of Vasil by voting on them again, but with a small difference - all Bozhkov and they did not intend to comment on the alle- forms of gambling would be taxed with a state fee equal gations of someone who had been accused of 18 crimes. to 20% of the commissions they collected. This propos- The same was stated by Chief Prosecutor Geshev, pointing al was approved with votes of GERB. After this course of out that this was defence of an accused person. According events, Bozhkov claimed that he had received a call from to acquaintances, the qualification of the data presented by Prime Minister Borisov, who had told him that everything Bozhkov as a defence strategy appeared strange, because about his business had been settled and that he should with this move he was incriminating himself, admitting that go to Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov. According to he had participated in crimes of corruption. Bozhkov, during their meeting, Goranov told him that he was obliged to give 20% of the profits of his companies to Bozhkov started making daily attacks on the government Boyko Borisov. Bozhkov stated that over a period of three with posts on his Facebook page. He asked Prime Minister years he had given BGN 67 million to Borisov, Goranov and Borisov to say why his PR agent Sevdalina Arnaudova went to persons named by them. He showed documents of the to his office every month. Arnaudova reacted sharply in re- cash withdrawals from his account for the specified period, sponse on Facebook that she could say a great deal about stating that he had dealt with all his expenses and pay- Bozhkov and that it was not appropriate for him to at- ments only by bank transfer. tack a woman. Arnaudova said that her father had worked for Bozhkov for many years and thus tried to explain his In May 2018, MPs from NFSB - a coalition partner of GERB, meetings with the businessman. Borisov did not respond to submitted a proposal to amend the Law on Gambling, these meetings, saying only that “perhaps Bozhkov liked” which stipulated a complete ban on advertising lottery Arnaudova. Former GERB deputy chairman Tsvetan Tsveta- games and products, as well as drastically limiting the pos- nov said he did not know about Arnaudova’s acquaintance sibilities for distributing them. Bozhkov claims that he was with Bozhkov, but that it was very strange for PR to meet summoned by Boyko Borisov, who informed him that he with a businessman. According to Tsvetanov, the job of a had ordered the GERB parliamentary group to postpone PR agent is to organise relations with the media, not with the vote on this proposal in the National Assembly. Thus, business. At the same time, the investigative journalism this bill did not receive the approval of the parliamentary website Bivol announced that last year Arnaudova bought committees and was withdrawn. After this development, a large house in the Bistritsa district of the capital city, Bozhkov was forced to become the owner of the football which is located at the foot of Vitosha Mountain, for BGN 2 THE POLITICAL SITUATION 1 million. Arnaudova said the house was bought with a room at the state residence where he lives were sent from loan of half a million levs and donations from her parents. the same email. One of the photos shows Borisov sleeping, The journalists from Bivol asked the bank how such a huge and a pistol on the locker next to him. Other photos of the loan was granted to a state official with a salary of BGN room show an open locker - full of bundles of euros with 3,000, but no answer was given. a face value of 500 euros, as well as gold bars, and the gun is again on the locker. According to estimates by some Bozhkov distributed screenshots with text messages from experts - what can be seen in the locker, if the banknotes correspondence between himself and Boyko Borisov. The are real, is at least 1 million euros. On the same day, Borisov first screenshot is regarding football players from Levski foot- gave a briefing about the topic. He said these were com- ball club, who were subsequently transferred to Vitosha-Bis- promising documents that came from people whose aim tritsa, a team in whose veterans the Prime Minister Borisov was to topple the government. The Prime Minister pointed plays. In this screenshot, Bozhkov communicates to Borisov out that the coming months are very important - the ces- that the former ombudsman Maya Manolova came to him sation of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, the for support, but that he refused. Manolova later announced country’s admission to Schengen, as well as entry into the that she would stand for election as mayor of Sofia. In re- waiting room of the eurozone, and all this is not conve- sponse to Bozhkov’s message, Borisov offers his thanks - writ- nient for certain circles. Borisov pointed to a wide range ten in Latin script. Bozhkov showed another screenshot with of people who could be behind the compromise - the op- a text message, which is from the date when the NFSB bill, position, accused businessmen, and even internal circles in which has already been mentioned, was withdrawn. Bozh- GERB, by which he alluded to his former deputy, Tsvetan kov writes - thank you, and Borisov answers “help” (written Tsvetanov, who officially left the party the same day. Borisov in Latin script). Bozhkov’s reaction – “where and what with, even mentioned President Radev, who lives next door to just say”, there follows – “in general”. the Prime Minister and said he was making use of a drone over his house to observe him. The Prime Minister said the Borisov gave confused and contradictory explanations photos with the money were either montage or someone about the text messages. First of all he said that his phone had put them there to compromise him. He said he had a was old and not in Cyrillic, and that anyone who said he gun and would carry it with him as he no longer felt pro- had received a message from him in Cyrillic was lying. Bor- tected. Accusations were also levelled at the National Se- isov later admitted that he had forwarded these messages curity Service (NSS), which guards the top government of- in Cyrillic to Bozhkov, sent to him by the management of ficials of the country. The NSS started an inspection forth- the Vitosha-Bistritsa football club in connection with the with. The former head of the NSS gen. Dimitar Vladimirov transfer of football players. When asked by journalists why defended his colleagues, pointing out that security guards he thanked Manolova and why he wrote “help” - Borisov are not allowed to enter the house, and if this happens, it is said that this was in connection with the footballers.
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