site.btaVice President Iotova Hopes Intrigues in Ruling Majority Will Not Be at Bulgarian Citizens' Expense

The planned changes in the laws governing the security services are due to fears of President Rumen Radev's growing influence, said Vice President Iliana Iotova here on Wednesday, as quoted by the head of State's press secretariat. "Let us hope that the intrigues and conflicts within the ruling majority will not be at the expense of Bulgarian citizens. The situation in the country is quite difficult – promises to control prices and inflation are not being fulfilled," she told journalists. 

Asked whether the role of MRF - New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski in the Government is even more obvious, Iotova said that the contradictions and conflicts within it have increased since Peevski started talking about a "State with a capital D" [in Bulgarian, the word for "State" begins with the letter d, just like Peevski's first name].

Iotova described the planned changes to the laws on Bulgarian security services, which aim to remove presidential powers, as a campaign against the presidential institution and Rumen Radev. "I expect serious arguments for these changes. In the recent past, such changes were made and subsequently the original texts were restored. This campaign is due to fears of the growing influence of the President and the rise in his approval rating. No matter how often it is repeated that the Government is stable, it is clear that it is not," the Vice President argued.

Regarding the case of the Bulgarian citizen who has allegedly been forcibly mobilized from the Ukrainian city of Odesa into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Iotova called for more calm until all the circumstances are clarified. “However, the lack of response from the Bulgarian Embassy in Kyiv is puzzling,” she commented. The Vice President described as "brutal" the reaction of Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev to the inquiry sent by the presidential institution to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the case. "I do not consider it normal for a country to react in this way when the President is interested in the condition of a Bulgarian citizen,” Iotova said.

When asked about the functions and actions of the newly created National Water Board, the Vice President expressed hope that its activities would not be directly proportional to the worsening problem of water shortages.