site.btaPopulist Parties Don't Believe in Their Own Actions - Environment Minister

Populist parties don’t believe in their own actions: the third no-confidence vote hasn’t even been held yet, and today they’re submitting a new one, and that means they’re quite sure their motions are completely groundless and won’t pass, said Environment and Water Minister Manol Genov on Thursday. He was speaking in parliament's corridors about the newly submitted - fourth - motion of no confidence against the Zhelyazkov cabinet, filed by Velichie and backed by Vazrazhdane and MECh over a government failure to address Bulgaria’s "environmental crisis".

Genov also said, "It’s good that they’re now in Parliament to see that this problem does indeed exist.” He stressed that the issue has persisted for over 20–30 years now.

“One of my first tasks as minister was the fight against illegal dumpsites,” Genov noted.

He said he recently met with mayors and heard strong dissatisfaction from them over being fined and receiving warnings for not dealing with illegal dumps. He expressed surprise that Vazrazhdane had signed the no-confidence motion, since "they fully understand the process". “Clearly, they’ve made some kind of trade-off - one group supports the other’s vote and then reciprocating,” he suggested.

“I can’t say that the regional environmental inspectorates aren’t doing their jobs,” the minister added.

Genov said he doesn’t see errors in his own work. “When the time comes to debate the vote, I’ll present statistics showing how many citations and warnings have been issued,” he stated.

He also explained that legislative amendments have been submitted, including increase in penalties for violations, broader powers for mayors, and even the possibility of confiscating vehicles used for carrying waste to illegal dumps.

Without a change in public mindset, Genov concluded, he doesn’t see how anyone could fully solve this issue.