STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- And the monarch is the *populist* candidate? Bulgarian "Stability" Warning as Former King Tipped for Poll Win SOFIA, Jun 8, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov warned voters not to believe "pretty promises" Thursday, in the latest blast by Sofia's ruling elite aimed at ex-king Simeon II who is tipped to win elections this month. And he forecast that the impoverished country, which has made huge strides towards Western integration over the last four years, faces a real threat of instability depending on the outcome of the June 17 ballots. Soaring in the polls with pledges to cut poverty and clamp down on corruption, the fledgling Simeon II National Movement (MNS II) is threatening to oust Prime Minister Ivan Kostov's ruling coalition in the poll. On Thursday, Stoyanov joined the fray warning about the country's future. "When political illusions of today turn out to be without foundation tomorrow, we will all have to pay dearly for their collapse," he said in an address to the nation. While not mentioning Simeon II by name, he added: "On the eve of elections for a new parliament, the political situation is heavy with uncertainty." Kostov's ruling United Democratic Forces (UDF) coalition, which took office in 1997, has been embraced by the West for its willingness to push through painful economic reforms deemed necessary to transform the ex-communist country into a fully functioning market economy. But the closure of so-called non-viable industries and a wave of privatizations have left nearly 20 percent without work, and others below the poverty line as the cost of living rises. Simeon, who has spent most of his life in exile after fleeing the communists in the 1940s, found his ambitions to re-enter the political arena welcomed by many of the country's disenchanted poor when he returned to the country earlier this year. This week he has attempted to broaden his support, bidding for the backing of public sector workers with promises of an increase in wages and pensions for teachers and police. He also pledged interest-free loans for small entrepreneurs wanting to set up businesses, and said he would free companies from paying tax on profits as long as these were reinvested in the company. His economic advisor Milen Veltchev said the extra money for these schemes would come from EU funds given to Bulgaria to prepare it for entry into the western club, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He added that the coalition's pledge to crack down on corruption would also be a money spinner, particularly at customs where officials are thought to turn a frequent blind eye to imports demanding duties in exchange for a bribe. The UDF moved quickly to condemn the proposals. Kostov branded them "populist" and "empty". Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Petar Jotev declared the MNS II objectives would spark off inflation. "They cannot be realized," he said. Meanwhile Finance Minister Mouravei Radev singled out plans to aid small businesses with interest free loans as "dangerous", because of the risk the money might never be paid back. And waving much coveted EU entry at the Bulgarian people, the government's negotiator for membership Vladimir Kissiov warned that these "vague messages risk pushing Bulgaria's date of entry into the EU far into the future". Kostov's UDF, while still trailing behind the ex-king's coalition, has in fact picked up in the opinion polls from a miserable position just two months ago. The most recent survey carried out by the ALPHA Research polling institute give MNS II some 38 percent of voting intentions, against 25 percent for the UDF. At the end of April, when the ex-king's coalition was formed, MNS II were running at 53 percent in the polls, and the UDF at 18 percent. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
