site.btaNew Party Calls for Income Tax Threshold, Spurns Military Aid to Ukraine

A newly established political party called Razvitie (Development) vows to work for setting an income tax threshold, a new pension adjustment formula, and energy security for the economy.

The goals of the centre-left party, which was established on April 16, were presented at a BTA-hosted news conference on Thursday by its leader Dessislava Dimitrova. The founding members describe Development as an organization of free zitizens, professionals and experts. They say they will shun the status-quo parties, a term which, according to them, refers to GERB, the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. They are open to dialogue with other political forces, with which they will try to find common ground.

The Development party will push for economic growth, for the prosperity of individuals, and for making Bulgaria a real economic factor in the Balkans, Dimitrova said. The party's agenda also includes a "genuine healthcare reform" focusing on out-patient care and the need to tackle understaffing in the system.

Efficient public institutions, investments and reinvestments, promoting small and medium-sized businesses, more markets for farmers, a consistent foreign policy, modern education, and preserving and developing Bulgarian culture are among the priorities as well.

Development is opposed to Bulgaria's providing military equipment to Ukraine because "it would only prolong the agony”.

The recent closure of the specialized jurisdictions was the first step forward in the reform which is dismantling the alternative justice system created by the GERB party as an instrument for settling accounts, Major General Valeri Grigorov said, taking a journalist's question.

Grigorov said the party favours the resignation of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev.