80614 | 28 July 2025 | 09:22

This COMP commission is conceived in sin, born in sin, and exists in sin. Unfortunately, it turns out that the CC are simply beach bums who party and hoard, but with little vision for the future, andmuch more is required in politics

 Is there an evolution in the development of "Continuing the Change", or is the formation directly linked to Kiril Petkov. What happens after the arrests in Sofia and Varna... Media expert Diana Damyanova speaks to FACTS.

 - Mrs. Damyanova, "you don't have handcuffs for everyone" is what we hear the people chanting in the streets, but will the Ministry of Interior still try to find...

 - First, I have to admit that "you don't have handcuffs for everyone" is a very good slogan.

 - Yes, it makes sense, there is a reason and it turned out well...

 - Yes, it's artistic and gives a charge. After we remove that, let's say that the Ministry of Interior has no desire to arrest the entire Bulgarian nation. On one hand, and on the other hand - the entire Bulgarian nation is not on the streets. There is no energy that can lead to a real civic explosion, because in Sofia it is clear, but in Varna there are doubts. When there is doubt that something is not quite right with the actions of these mayors, it cannot lead to the protests we see in Istanbul. It is crystal clear that this is a political repression there. But as we see, when there is dictatorship, it does not help either.

 - What is clear in Sofia?

 - In Sofia it is clear that the leader of the party - no matter what his name is - has given instructions to this deputy mayor, whom I do not have the honor to know, but as we can see - he has received instructions and has tried to pass them down, but has met resistance. Whether this resistance is natural from people who say "no" to corruption, or people who feel used, that with their signatures something will be done that they will not touch. These are already deeply psychological profiles that I cannot comment on, because I do not know the people. It is clear, however, that there is organization in Sofia and the deal there is completely clear.

 The big sponsor of CC-DP was made mayor, and then he was released from his obligations to be a sponsor.

 CC-DB - especially CC, has a huge need for money because of the large expenses they have, as with them all the money is being spent. A lot of PR, a lot of social media accounts are maintained and the money simply is not enough for them. What is more important to mention is that when they make such an operation, they do it in the name of the good and noble goals. When someone else does such an operation, it is corruption. The assessment is especially important in this situation.

 - We saw that Kiril Petkov withdrew as co-chairman of CC after the scandals in Sofia and Varna. What changes does this move lead to in the party? Who is the strong person in CC today?

 - "I have strong doubts that CC  has the capacity to survive without Kiril Petkov because he was the pillar around which everything was organized. Between Kiril and Asen there was - I don't know if it still exists, but there used to be unlimited trust. They followed the rule that in politics, "four eyes see better." As co-chairs in CC, they made decisions together on all issues. So this human mass, which I have said repeatedly, is actually one of the reasons for CC's failures because Kiril put in unsuccessful marketing experts in politics, who have no clue about this job and I call them "a big group of Venkovsabruites." Overall, these people are all devoted to Kiril Petkov until death, and in this sense, what will be the unifying factor among them after Kiril’s departure – I cannot know. Asen Vassilev is a man of the laboratory. He is a man of thought, he can invent the organism – even in a political sense, but someone else has to create it. Asen will not have the strength to replace Kiril in front of his people, because this party – as long as it exists, is about 400 people who are there because of Kiril Petkov.
 
 If we go a little further down in the management of CC - Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev were co-chairs, while Lena Borislova and academic Nikolay Denkov were among the main figures in the party. Kiril Petkov is gone, Asen Vassilev became the chairman. Lena Borislavova and Nikolay Denkov - what roles do they have now?

 - Nikolay Denkov was a very good prime minister in the difficult role he played, being on his own, but in this "construction" he seemed good. I think Denkov is one of the prime ministers we have had in democratic times who stood well. Now Rosen Zhelyazkov is also doing very well. As for Lena Borislavova, she is a "disaster" in the party. I have said many times that Borislavova is a lady who has achieved political growth through non-political means. And that always determines her participation.

 Lena is a by-product of Kiril Petkov.

 I don't know what will happen to her now that Kiril Petkov is gone. In fact, it is important to note that I do not know to what extent Kiril is absent from the party. It may not only be in the official part, but many things can be discussed as before with Asen.

 - But still, the possibilities you have when you are in the party are one thing, and when you are outside - they are different...

 - CC is not a party - it is a family. Kiril Petkov was the "head of the family" (ed. note- father of the family). As long as Kiril Petkov represents the "head of the family", this family will be united around him. Whether Kiril Petkov will be able to transfer his influence, so that these people who are unconditionally loyal to him, will also be loyal to Asen Vasilev - I do not know. The loyalty of these people to Kiril Petkov is simply one of the problems of this party. Being loyal until the grave, being submissive until the grave, experiencing emotional, physical and any other kind of ecstasy from Kiril Petkov, they do not become what a party should be. Namely, to make corrections, to have a second opinion, a third opinion, people who can ask questions, who want and seek a solution. We saw from the leaked recordings how Kiril Petkov offers them a first, second, third time and generally votes are taken until Kiril's decision is passed. Now who will be the new Kiril, I don't know. Whether the party will be able to gather strength to cope without Kiril...

 - "We continue the change" in 2021 and now. What is the difference, what path has the party taken?

 - It's difficult for me to say what path CC has taken, but I know that I have taken the path of illusion that unprepared, but good people, who practically have no skills, people who don't know how, but have the desire, to be thrown directly into politics. This illusion turned out to be untrue. And this is my greatest pain. When this government of the minority was formed

 - GERB-UDF, BSP, and TISP, I expected that the process of education would begin.

 The elections were won with great enthusiasm, which was given to the people, and this enthusiasm needed to be clothed in competent knowledge. People should have viewed politics as a profession, as a science, as an art, as it is. But this stopped somewhere in 2022 and from there on, it was simply seen that the illusion of the people did not come true.

 - Let me return to the arrest of the mayor in Varna. How do you view what is happening, because you know Blagomir Kotsev very well. Do you see anything specific about his case?

 - I took Blagomir Kotsev to the office of Kiril Petkov. It doesn't sound good to me and I don't want Kotshev to be involved in schemes in any way, as it would also be a personal disappointment.

 But how can I say it - power is a terrible lure, a monstrous lure.

 Only those who are morally vigilant can resist this lure, but also those who are under great control. In fact, this is the purpose of the party. It must keep its people in check, choose the best from them, and people must fear retaliation when committing a crime. All of this is missing in Bulgaria. Honesty is left in the hands of one's own morality, which can sometimes have deviations.

  - It creates defects, as they say...

 - Yes.

  - What has become of and how is CONPI being used? We no longer have a special court and special prosecutor...

 - Kiril Petkov's vision was to create something like an alternative to the special court. We are closing the specialized court, but we are establishing an alternative in the form of a commission. This commission, called KONPI, was born in sin, exists in sin and is sin. This is what we have seen in the last days.

  And it is a very strong evidence that in Bulgarian politics, some are playing "beach belot", while others play "bridge" at a global level - I am talking about Delyan Peevski.

 He is currently applying one of the best and most subtle elements in bridge - the "end play". This is a moment where every move you make, every card you play, is to your disadvantage. And that is exactly what we are witnessing - a continuous "end play" where he gives them a hand and then makes them take an action that is against them and to their detriment. Now, Peevski is trying to get them into it with his "let's close KONPI" move. The peak of political intrigue, because they have no other correct move left. If the CC say "we're closing it down," they will be accused of destroying their own thing. And in addition to that, we must mention that the existence of KONPI is linked to funds from the Recovery and Sustainability Plan. In this sense, Boyko Borisov is right that things are so connected that if we close KONPI, we may suffer financially. So the CC must decide for themselves on this problem. If they do not support the closure of KONPI, they are playing into Peevski's scenario. He gives them cards in the game and tells them: "Play..." And no matter what card the CC plays, they are playing it wrong. In this case, we have a game of Belot against Bridge. That is the situation.

 - Sarafov remaining at the head of the prosecution. Is it just a loophole in the legislation or are laws deliberately written in this way for the sake of a "new option"? - Let me say that the heads of the "coalition" Delian Peevski, Boyko Borisov, Kiril Petkov, and Hristo Ivanov carried out the entire operation to remove Ivan Geshev. This was done because Ivan Geshev suddenly became revolutionary.

 Thus Sarafov was created - after some agreements between them, to eliminate Geshev. But their legal mind is simply not enough. The legal mind in CC is a true nightmare, which is largely related to the question you asked me earlier about Lena Borislava, as she is at the top of the pyramid of legal thinking. Otherwise, CC will not admit their mistake, but will continue to claim that the interpretation made by the prosecution is wrong. I spoke with lawyers, but it turned out that out of two lawyers there are three opinions on the issue - whether Sarafov could stay at the moment, or should be removed.

 - The truth is, if it had been included in the transitional and final provisions, "the caught position", there would have been specifics now, which would not allow him to stay...
 
 When you are incompetent, even if you make a law to remove the one you consider an enemy, it turns out like this.

  Unfortunately, it turned out that the CC are simply beach belot players who bluff and accumulate, but without much vision for the future, and in politics much more is required.

 In politics, there are many complex scenarios that require actions to be planned long-term, not just planning for tomorrow. Now you can see how Atanas Atanasov from CC-DB comes out and says he wants to close CONPI. After others from the party CC-BB say: "We won't shut down because we'll lose money..." These people just confuse society and undermine support. If there is an actual recount at the moment, we will see that the party CC-BB has truly shrunk to its core, which I don't even know if it includes 100-150,000 people.