Bulgaria’s President: Next Cabinet Will Be in Extremely Hard Situation

President Rumen Radev described next year's budget as "inadequate to real situation and the challenges" which the country will face in 2021.

The Head of State also commented on the new restrictions coming into force tonight.

According to the president, there are no revenue sources for next year's budget, and social spending will be curtailed drastically.

The budget is dragging the country into increasingly heavy debts and makes economy increasingly uncompetitive, Radev believes.

"It is wasteful and ruinous and is based on "after us the deluge" philosophy. The budget is already inadequate to current realities, not to mention the challenges that await us in 2021.

The next cabinet will find itself in an extremely unfavorable situation - plundered Treasury, bankrupt households and businesses, lack of revenues, zero reforms and, most likely, social tensions."

When asked if he will veto the budget, the President replied:

"No president has ever vetoed the state budget before. It's an instrument of the government. But this government needs to have proper sense of reality, think about what will happen to the country after their tenure - not just within their mandate."

As regards the new restrictive measures which take effect tonight, the president described them as a delayed fire alarm:

"I'm talking about a package of balanced health, economic and social measures. Using this crisis for PR purposes would lead to loss of lives," the Head of State said.