In addition to the question which political parties would be able to win the trust of voters and enter the 45th National Assembly, there are important issues on the agenda of Bulgarian society that must be addressed. Urgent health-care reforms and extension of measures to support employment and business as much as possible - these are two of the pressing issues that the new government must tackle after taking the oath in the plenary hall of the National Assembly, Sociologist Parvan Simeonov said in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. Several changes are needed in the health-care system, he says and adds:

"The logic of pre-hospital care needs to be reconsidered, as well as the mechanism for financing hospital treatment. Perhaps, revision of the Health Insurance Fund's monopoly should be considered, and last but not least, the disparities in public and private health care should be addressed. Covid-19 turned out to be a test shedding light on many health care problems in Bulgaria, which are waiting to be resolved as soon as the wave we are currently witnessing is curbed.”

When it comes to measures aimed at supporting employment and business, they should continue functioning, because there is no clarity about the future development of the pandemic:

"There is a problem with curbing it on a European scale. The vaccines, which heralded the end of it all, had also become part of the issues. Slow vaccination across Europe could lead to more problems, so this country must remain ready to support the affected sectors. This help should not aid the capital, but labor.”

Despite its dominant presence on the Bulgarian and world agenda, the coronavirus crisis and its consequences will not be the only obstacles that the new ruling powers would face. They will have to explain the benefits and disadvantages of the Green Deal and need to hold a difficult dialogue with citizens, as it concerns the livelihood and future of hundreds of thousands of people.

The most difficult thing will be to explain to Bulgarian society what the future of industries such as coal mining would be, Simeonov says. According to him, it is very important for people to understand the ways and the extent such a transformation would improve their quality of life.

"People generally fear that such acts put quality of life at risk because they feel threatened by job insecurity and adverse economic prospects. This is the eternal antagonism between the idea of growth and that of preserving nature. You know that nature conservation is better accepted in richer societies where growth has already taken place. This is not valid about the Bulgarian society, characterized by serious social inequalities, considerable poverty, regional disparities, aging, etc. In such a type of society, discussing the Green Deal is abstract and even hostile in nature."

The question of North Macedonia is one of the challenges facing the new government when it comes to foreign policy. According to the sociologist, a new, rapid change of Bulgaria’s position would not be in its interest.

"This is an important topic for Bulgaria and is one of the few ones with nearly complete consensus in society. Any attempt to talk about a compromise with North Macedonia over issues ends in open hostility on the part of a large number of Bulgarians," Parvan Simeonov says.

Bulgarian communities abroad are among the important priorities of the foreign policy. According to the analyst, the creation of a specialized administrative structure different than the previous one dealing with this topic, was necessary.

English: Alexander Markov