contents
It’s war – and the western-oriented Kiril Petkov rules a country in which many feel connected to Russia.
Bulgaria is considered the poorest and most corrupt country in the EU. But for a few months now, Sofia has been governed by a man who has nothing to do with corruption: Kiril Petkov. Bulgaria’s new head of government studied at Harvard and wants to change the country – his supporters see him as a kind of last chance for Bulgaria.
Last fall, Petkov, 42, didn’t even have a party — but a squad of people he’d taught at Sofia University what he’d learned in economics at Harvard’s elite university.
There are twenty eminence grises who are corrupt. You have to get rid of these.
Young people work for him and say that now that Petkov is in charge of the country, for the first time they are no longer ashamed of being Bulgarian.
Zero tolerance for corruption
“When I say we have zero tolerance when it comes to corruption, I mean it,” says Petkov. He is probably the first Bulgarian head of government who can be believed. Corruption is not that complicated, says Petkov: “There are 6.5 million people in Bulgaria and twenty gray eminences who are corrupt. You have to get rid of these twenty.”
Only: Corruption has long since seeped through everywhere, and the gray eminences are still in power in Bulgaria. Because Petkov had to join forces with the post-communists and the party of a flighty showmaster to rule. “Cooperation is difficult, I wish we were more constructive,” says Petkov.
The mighty corrupt old guard
There is no shortage of attempts: investigations by Petkov’s government led to his predecessor’s arrest. Former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is said to have accepted a bribe from an oligarch. But after just one day, the Attorney General released Borisow. The Attorney General is working against the government and is part of the corrupt past, says Petkov.
It is terrible that we have such an aggressive regime in Europe that is forcing such a war on the people of Ukraine.
The Prosecutor General is very powerful, Petkov can hardly get rid of him, especially without the help of the post-communists. And these are part of the corrupt present.
It is similar with relations with Russia: they are close. Or, to paraphrase Petkov: Those who are corrupt in Bulgaria often get money from Russia. He himself is not a friend of Russia: “It is terrible that we have such an aggressive regime in Europe that is forcing such a war on the people of Ukraine.”
High inflation, many refugees
The most dangerous thing for Petkov’s political fate, however, is that Bulgarians can hardly afford to pay for their daily bread: 14 percent inflation, everything is becoming more expensive, especially food. The government now wants to spend billions on the poorest. The state will lack the money elsewhere, although many people already think it is doing too little for them.
In contrast, some say the state is doing too much for the Ukrainian refugees. Bulgaria has housed refugees in hotels on the Black Sea coast. But the head of government is proud that Bulgaria treats people from Ukraine well. “It’s mainly women and children who are fleeing the war.”
Petkov looks tired. he yawns “We haven’t betrayed our principles,” he emphasizes. The question is how much time he has left. There is a great danger that he, too, will fail because of the impenetrable mix of the corrupt, politicians and the courts.