The major topics that President Rosen Plevneliev and President Petar Stoyanov (1997-2002) and the National Assembly speakers since the onset of the transition period on 10 November 1989 discussed at their meeting were overcoming the division in society, the escalation of hatred and the serious confrontation and interpersonal wars between politicians. The people who accepted the Head of State’s invitation were Alexander Yordanov, academician Blagovest Sendov, Yordan Sokolov, professor Ognyan Gerdzhikov, Borislav Velikov, Georgi Pirinski and Tsetska Tsacheva.
At the meeting, which was the first of its kind, the statesmen discussed the achievements and problems of the Bulgarian transition, the expectations the Bulgarian citizens have of the politicians and the new causes the nation can reach a consensus on.
Almost a quarter of a century since the start of the democratic changes in Bulgaria on 10 November 1989, the lack of a common cause and a national goal, the feeling of a lack of justice, the low standard of living, the demographic crisis, the state of the market economy and the judiciary are still among the challenges the country is facing in its democratic development, the Head of State said, summarizing the topics discussed at the meeting.
The statesmen unanimously shared the opinion that a balance should be sought and found amid the crisis and the fierce opposition. The most important problems the Bulgarian public is facing today are those provoked by the division of the nation and the non-functioning institutions, the solution of which requires encouraging the civil activity, President Rosen Plevneliev emphasized. During the meeting a great concern was voiced for the social status of the Bulgarian people, almost half of which are endangered by poverty.
President Plevneliev took on the commitment to initiate a debate at which the necessity to carry out reforms in the sectors education and healthcare should be discussed, as well as the necessity for all parties represented in parliament and those outside parliament to reach a consensus on this issue.
In the Head of State’s words, the Bulgarian people consider as one of the causes on which consensus has been reached the achievement of a European standard of living and a “European morality in politics.” The Bulgarian statesmen also voiced the opinion that predictability and security should be guaranteed both at the institutional and at the political level.