site.btaUPDATED Vazrazhdane Chair Says His Party Will Be "Nation's Conscience" in New Parliament

Speaking from Parliament's rostrum during the inaugural sitting of the 52nd National Assembly here on Thursday, Vazrazhdane Chair Kostadin Kostadinov said his party will "be the nation’s conscience," clarifying that he addresses only the Bulgarian people "because everyone in this hall, regardless of whether their powers are temporary, acquired, or stolen, must first and foremost be Bulgarians." He declared that his party will "continue to speak the truth in the temple of lies in which we find ourselves" and "will offer solutions."

Vazrazhdane emphasized the need to bring back the Bulgarian lev, with Kostadinov arguing that "the State’s excessive debt is due to the fact that we were forcibly brought into the eurozone."

Kostadinov also drew attention to the demographic crisis. “The birth rate in our country continues to decline catastrophically, and last year set another negative record – we dropped by 10% in one year,” he argued.

According to data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI), the decline in the number of births between 2024 and 2025 is 6% (from 53,727 to 50,496). According to the National Health Information System (NHIS), it is 2% (from 49,451 to 48,434).

“The even more tragic news is that the majority of babies are not Bulgarian. The problem is radical, and that is why it was resolved in a typically Bulgarian radical way – by stopping talking about it,” the Vazrazhdane Chair pointed out. There is no such data in either the NSI or the NHIS.

He also noted that Bulgaria is among the largest donors of money and armaments to Ukraine. “We have no money for our own army, but we apparently find it for [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy’s fraternal fascist regime,” commented Kostadinov. “For yet another year, there will be no military parade on May 6, or there will be something resembling a military parade. Instead, we have foreign military bases, our borders are guarded by foreigners from Frontex, and our skies have long been patrolled by Greek and Turkish aircraft,” he added.

According to Vazrazhdane, aid to Ukraine should be stopped, the funds redirected to Bulgaria, the reintroduction of military service, and so on.

Kostadinov also argued that Bulgaria no longer produces even its own food, with "only 20% of the food in our shops being Bulgarian." He again recalled the party’s position on renegotiating Bulgaria’s membership of the European Union. The politician also did not miss what, according to his political force, is the tragic state of education in the country. “That is why foreign foundations must be removed from Bulgarian education,” he said.