Envious Bulgarian PM Snubs Police State Talk

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has certainly made a difference as the culture of impunity that once plagued Bulgaria has largely gone. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who served as chief secretary of the interior ministry before sweeping into office, did not hide his envy as he congratulated the department officers for their profession holiday.

“It is with a bit of envy that I watch your ranks today, since these were some of the best years that I have ever had,” Borisov said at the ceremony in front of the Unknown Soldier Monument in Sofia, attended also by Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and parliamentary speaker Tsetska Tsacheva.

“I am sure that when you hear the talk about Bulgaria being a police state, you feel annoyed,” Borisov said, apparently referring to recent accusations that his heavy-handed approach has brought police oppression to the country.

The new center-right government has won praise across the EU for its decisiveness and strong determination to crack down on crime and corruption and implement difficult reforms.

Prime Minister Borisov has certainly made a difference - the television news now features police operations with such labels as “Octopus”, arresting people with such names as “the Tractor”, the culture of impunity that once plagued Bulgaria has largely gone, the coverage of the raids in the media is impressive.

Recently however things have got quite complicated as the welcome onslaught on corruption raised fears of a police state and prompted criticism over what has been called the government’s passivity in the economy sector.

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