site.btaPublic Doesn't Trust Institutions, Media, Says Velichie Leader Mihaylov

The public has no trust in institutions, nor in the media, and rightly so, said Velichie Floor Leader Ivelin Mihaylov during consultations with President Iliana Iotova in connection with the procedure for appointing a caretaker prime minister.

When choosing a caretaker prime minister and government, the truth must be restored and it must be demonstrated through actions proving that this will not be yet another prearranged cabinet, Mihaylov added. It must be shown that this government, from the very beginning, will reveal the truth about obvious issues and set in motion processes to bring them to light, he said. According to him, this would calm people. Mihaylov noted that politics and statehood can develop only if they are based on truth.

Mihaylov also said he believes in President Iliana Iotova’s choice (of a caretaker prime minister) and that she will do what is best for the Bulgarian people. Irreversible processes are following, because when people lose trust in the State, it cannot be restored, the leader of Velichie added. 

He said that on the day of the parliamentary elections in 2025 he received calls from “emissaries of [GERB leader] Boyko Borissov and [MRF - New Beginning leader] Delyan Peevski,” who told him: “Either you vote with us, or you will not enter the National Assembly.” According to Mihaylov, the Constitutional Court restored justice to some extent through partial recounts of voting sections, but there was no reaction from institutions or the media.

Mihaylov also said he had alerted the Anti-Corruption Commission that he was being blackmailed, with threats that if he did not agree to vote with Peevski and Borissov, people close to him would be arrested. According to him, there was once again no reaction. People are again losing faith and wonder whether there are working institutions, because the manipulation of the parliamentary elections changes democracy as a whole, said the Velichie leader. 

He added that there have been cases in which the MECh party threatened an individual, but there was once again no media coverage. According to him, this sends a signal to the public that political parties can use language unbecoming of people in politics. This creates a sense of impunity, lack of transparency, and a feeling that the state is “crushing” the ordinary person instead of caring for them, Mihaylov said.

He further stated that with regard to prices, the problem does not stem from the introduction of the euro but from a lack of competition. According to him, businesses have been destroyed for years. Mihaylov also believes that the State Agency for National Security is not fulfilling its role, and that parties, in their strive to receive funds from the State Budget, are ready each time to support a given manipulation. Someone is talking about Orthodoxy and sectarianism, while in Bulgaria no one is investigating drug dealers, criminals, and vote buyers, Mihaylov said. 

The leader of Velichie also appealed to the media “not to be an instrument in someone else’s hands.”