President Rumen Radev’s Language Error and Unprecedented Intervention in Bulgarian Politics

For two of the last three years, President Rumen Radev has ruled the country with his caretaker governments, which also led to a language error on his part during a speech to journalists during his visit to Turkey on Saturday.

In front of national television reporters, Radev first emphasized Turkey’s growing role in the region and pointed out that his caretaker government has started joint projects with the authorities in Ankara in the fields of transport, infrastructure and energy.

“I strongly hope that the new caretaker government will take advantage of what has been achieved and finish what it started,” said Radev, quoted by BTA. He was corrected by a journalist and immediately apologized with the clarification that he was mistaken because of too much “deliberation of the caretaker government”.

When handing over the second mandate to form a government to “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria” on Monday, President Radev unprecedentedly intervened in the affairs of the parliament and called on Nikolay Denkov to return the mandate unfulfilled. If the second mandate fails, it is very likely that Radev’s “new caretaker government” will finish what it started.

The president’s behavior also led to civil protests in defense of the parliamentary republic

“The future regular cabinet must follow the course that we have set, not just have exhortations and talks. There are no expert cabinets. Yes, it is made up of experts, but the political responsibility will be borne by the parties that stand behind this government. Very soon it will find out which party has what dominance in the relevant ministries,” the president said.

Radev congratulated Turkish President Recep Erdogan for his clear commitment to deterring immigrants coming to the EU’s borders.

“With this new mandate of President Erdoğan, I expect that Turkey will work even harder to help us all to protect Europe’s external borders,” said Radev. In the Bulgarian delegation, the deputy from GERB-SDS Vezhdi Rashidov, which the president defined as a sign of continuity.

“In the coming days, we should open the extension of the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint. A memorandum for a second railway line between Elhovo and Edirne is to be signed. A section between Lesovo and AM “Maritsa” is also being designed to separate the huge flow of tracks and trains in two. As a bonus, the construction of a pedestrian bridge near Rezovo is planned,” said the president.

According to him, “Bulgaria and Turkey are of key importance for the future of Europe”, and “the path is mutual cooperation while respecting sovereignty”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in for a third term as head of state in a solemn ceremony at the Grand National Assembly in Ankara on Saturday.

The ceremony in Turkey was attended by 20 presidents, including the Bulgarian head of state Rumen Radev. A total of 78 representatives of various countries from around the world arrived for Erdogan’s swearing-in.

The Turkish president was also honored by the presidents of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, Kosovo Vyosa Osmani, North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski and others. Among the heads of government invited to the ceremony were the Prime Ministers of Hungary Viktor Orban and Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Organization of Turkic States Secretary General Kubanichbek Omuraliev and Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Husein Ibrahim Taha were also present.
After taking the oath, Erdogan laid a wreath at the mausoleum of the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.