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The President: The Legacy of the Crashed Autocracy is Grim and We can Overcome it only with a Common Will and an Active Civic Stance

The Strategic Council with the President presented the first part of a draft National Strategic Document of Bulgaria for public discussion

The legacy of the crashed autocracy is grim and we can overcome it only with a common will and an active civic stance.  This is what President Rumen Radev said at the presentation of the first part of a draft National Strategic Document at the Boyana residence today. The Strategic Council with the Head of State /STRATES/ has dedicated the first stage of the draft to an analysis of the real situation in the country.

“Bulgarians massively reject propaganda and have the right to know the real situation of the state and society and to seek an alternative to the present-day deadlock,” the President said. In his words, statistics disprove the prime minister’s words that for the last 3 years Bulgaria has been at the forefront of the fastest growing European countries. “The prime minister never ventured out of his self-created illusionary world,” Rumen Radev said.

“We have before us the example of the authoritarian rule in the last decade, and of replacement of ideas by propaganda, the harsh reality of PR, the legitimacy and public morality of loyalty to the leader and the party-state, the legitimacy of behind-the-scenes arrangements. This vicious system has brought the country into the current deep crisis, and restored Bulgaria’s historic clock to the dawn of the transition, when we learned to speak freely and conduct fair elections,” Rumen Radev said. In the Head of State’s words, Bulgarians ever more frequently ask the question: What should be done henceforth so that the repetition of this governance catastrophe can be avoided, so that the democratic development of society and bottoming out of the demographic crisis can be guaranteed. The President noted that the Strategic Council relies on openness, orderliness and consistency. Therefore the National Strategic Document will be presented at three stages:

-         Analysis of the situation in the country,

-         identifying the reasons for the unsatisfactory results in public development,

-         vision and necessary actions for the country’s successful development

“The ambition is to include a growing number of Bulgarians at every stage – in the country and abroad, their ideas, talent and courage. To ensure civic initiative, control and responsibility,” the President further said.

The Head of State stressed that the results of the Council’s work coincide with a historic moment for the country. “Bulgarians have come out of the apathy and the hypnosis of propaganda.  They fearlessly tell the truth about the conquered state, about the lies, arrogance and plunder of the power holders. They demonstrated their resolve to win back the state from the mafia and they together declare their desire to live in a normal, democratic, European state,” the Head of State said.

According to the Strategic Council Chair Alexander Marinov, public discussions under the aegis of STRATES will be held until the National Strategic Document is finally drawn up and this will make this strategic document different from all previous ones.

“The Bulgaria 2020 National Development Programme expires in the current year and has failed to achieve its objectives and priorities. Even where there are positive trends, such as economic growth and increase of export, they do not lead to improving the life of the majority of Bulgarians, on the contrary – they reinforce inequalities and deepen the demographic catastrophe,” Professor Marinov said.

To this aim, the Strategic Council with the Head of State presents for public discussion the first part of a draft National Strategic Document, which will be published on the website of the Presidential institution. The draft analyzes the fulfillment of the effective supreme strategic document in Bulgaria - the Bulgaria 2020 National Development Programme and the analysis presented by STRATES is based on the officially confirmed by the government and international organizations data and conclusions.

The Strategic Council with the Head of State in partnership with the We, the e-people civic initiative also opens the civic debate on adopting a National Strategic Document from today onwards. The debate will be held on the profiles of the initiative in the Facebook and LinkedIn social networks. https://www.facebook.com/nieenarod/

Opinions, notes and proposals can also be formulated on a specialized website, where the draft will be presented in terms of basic thematic areas. The website will periodically publish news from the discussion process, expert opinions and proposals, historical overviews of implemented strategies of statehood, materials on the problems of e-democracy etc.

The first questions within the public discussion are:

-         Do you consider Bulgaria now “a country with competitive economy that provides conditions for full social, creative and professional development of the individual through smart, sustainable, inclusive and regionally balanced economic growth,” as the Bulgaria 2020 National Development Programme envisages? 

-         Taking as a starting point the current realities and above all the imposed governance model, do you consider it feasible that in 2030 Bulgaria will: “have a high standard of living and competitive low-carbon economy… will be adapting to the changing world through its highly educated, creative, solidary and healthy society, be a fertile soil for ideas and an attraction for investments and human resources….The Bulgarian citizen plays an active role in their country’s future, has rich opportunities for personal and professional development and lives in a fair and tolerant society, where their voice is heard”?

-         If there is a mismatch between reality and these guidelines, what are the basic reasons for that, in your opinion?

In Professor Alexander Marinov’s words, the problem does not lie in seeking solutions in individual areas, since so far 200 different development strategies have been presented in Bulgaria. Therefore a comprehensive approach to outlining the desired future of the nation and the path to achieving it is necessary. “There is a real risk of the nation remaining captive to unfeasible desires. To avoid this risk, decisive changes are necessary,” Professor Marinov further emphasized.