Continue the Change Chair Vassilev: Bulgaria Will Not Settle for Last Place

Kaloyan Kirilov

Continue the Change Chair Assen Vassilev at the Inter Expo Centre, Sofia, September 27, 2025 (BTA Photo/Hristo Kasabov)

Sofia,

27.09.2025 13:22

(BTA)

Continue the Change (CC) Chair Assen Vassilev said his party will not give up until they saw a wealthy and just Bulgaria, where people are proud of their past, happy in the present, and secure about the future on Saturday.

The party's General Assembly is electing new leadership bodies and adopting a political platform and amendments to its statute.

Vassilev told delegates that what he could promise them was that they would not give up until they saw a wealthy and just Bulgaria, where people are proud of their past, happy in the present, and secure about the future.

He said that, as in the past three years, it is essential to show that Bulgaria will not accept being in last place, now or in the future.

This is not just a battle, but a prolonged war, as the opponent is firmly entrenched, Vassilev said.

This statement marks a tone shift from rapid overhaul to a long-haul approach. In December 2021, former prime minister Kiril Petkov, who resigned as Continue the Change (CC) co-chair in June 2025, said “From now on, every day will count… We won’t waste a day and hour.” On Saturday, he said “It is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Vassilev urged attendees to consider the implications of removing BGN 3-5 billion annually from those who collect and distribute these funds to sustain the system that benefits them and secures electoral victories.

He also asked the audience to imagine a scenario in which every truck crossing the border is scanned, instead of just 10%, and where dedicated anti-smuggling teams, comprising customs officers from Bulgaria as well as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France, are established to effectively combat smuggling.

Vassilev noted that the same policy would extend to hospital directors, indicating that their salaries would no longer reach BGN 100,000 per month while they claim they cannot pay nurses BGN 1,000. He pointed out that this network of individuals and dependencies would be challenging to reform and would require many years of gradual change.

/КТ/