site.btaOutgoing Social Policy Minister Talks on Achievements, Potential Bid for BSP Chairmanship

Outgoing Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov said that in these “turbulent times” there is no threat whatsoever to the most vulnerable segments of the population. “Despite the fact that there is no regular budget, we have taken certain actions and decisions to protect them,” Gutsanov said in an interview with Bulgarian National Television on Saturday.

“A proposal was submitted to increase the minimum wage, and it rose from BGN 1,077 to BGN 1,213, and as of tomorrow it will be EUR 620. That is an increase of nearly 14%,” he added. “We raised the poverty line by almost 20% to EUR 390 and managed to apply the Swiss rule, so that from July 1 all pensioners in Bulgaria – 2.1 million people – will receive pensions adjusted under the Swiss rule,” Gutsanov noted. Under the I Choose Bulgaria programme, there are currently more than 3,500 applications from Bulgarian citizens living abroad who wish to return to the country, the outgoing Social Policy Minister added.

Asked whether the rise in the prices of goods and services is due to the euro, Gutsanov said that price increases are a fact, but not solely because of the euro. “I regret that laws were not adopted in the National Assembly to curb price hikes, and not so much at the level of producers – they should earn more – but rather the increase in the final price comes from intermediaries and traders, which I do not consider normal,” he said.

Gutsanov was a member of the Bulgarian Socialist Party’s (BSP) Executive Board, which resigned at the end of 2025. Asked whether he would choose to lead the BSP or continue as Social Policy Minister, Gutsanov said that at any time the right leader must be selected to head a party, “especially when it comes to the BSP, which for more than 120 years has never been absent from parliament and has significant influence.”

“What is important at the moment is to properly assess the results and why the BSP is in a difficult situation,” he said, adding that he is one of the initiators of holding a party congress. “I do not consider it right to cancel the congress at today’s plenum, and I do not believe there will be enough votes for such a cancellation,” Gutsanov said. Asked whether he would run for BSP chair, he replied that he is among the people with the highest number of nominations.

“I do not consider Rumen Radev a threat to the BSP. We share many common views. I also believe that partnership should be sought with Radev’s party,” Gutsanov said.