Ivaylo Kalfin: Glavchev – foreign minister is a mockery of the entire diplomatic service

Follow “Voices” in Telegram

The reshuffle in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the appointment of acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev as Bulgaria’s No. 1 diplomat shows a lack of trust and low motivation in the administration. This is how former Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin defined the changes in the cabinet in an interview with the BNR.

Radev issued a decree for Glavchev, who also became foreign minister. Georgi Takhov takes over agriculture

“There are also two deputy ministers there who are external to the system (b.r. – we are talking about Maria Angelieva and Colonel Nevyana Miteva). The risks are great, and the smallest problem is holding the elections abroad,” he added.

“The foreign minister must participate in the meeting of foreign ministers. Does Glavchev have the competence and language skills or will he send someone on his behalf?” Foreign policy happens largely in your one-on-one conversations. Russian will not help him much in this environment. But language skills are the least. Foreign policy is not something to be looked at lightly and only for elections,” commented Ivaylo Kalfin in the “12+3” program.

He is adamant that this casting is an important moment in the international situation and the tension around us:

“We need people who know how to react in certain situations and quickly.”

The former foreign minister admitted:

“The casts are a very complicated matter, I wonder how to comment. There is no logic to what is happening. This is a mockery of the entire diplomatic service. Diplomacy needs a professional person and there is a great choice. The idea that anyone can stand at the head of Foreign or any other ministry is not good.”

The smallest problem of the MFA is the vote. Kalfin predicts that this government can stay longer and “I don’t think that Glavchev is a person who can lead our foreign policy.”

The former foreign minister believes that other problems are hidden behind the changes in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have nothing to do with Bulgarian diplomacy.

“There is not a single argument for the foreign ministry to be something controversial, because there are no disputes on foreign policy and there is consensus in the country on it. It is obvious that the interests are somewhere else and it is being used externally as a cover-up,” he suspects.

And he spoke extremely flatteringly about today’s suspended Foreign Minister Stefan Dimitrov:

“He is one of our good diplomats. There is no way he can change the doctrine and foreign policy of Bulgaria. He supports the Bulgarian political position. The stories that he does not pick up the phone are for people who do not know how it works abroad. If anyone was looking for him, to have found it.”

“Foreign policy is a very professional activity and with all my respect for Glavchev, he is a good accountant, auditor and economist, but does he have the competences?” It is as if the chairman of the BFS manages the Audit Chamber. You need a person with great competence, if a person knows his competences, he wouldn’t get caught”, Kalfin warned.

He hopes that a “new normal” will be found and predicts that this caretaker cabinet will remain for longer because there is unlikely to be a change in the political picture after the election to make a regular cabinet.

And he warned: Bulgaria looks unstable from the outside. European countries deal with real problems and move forward, we deal with ourselves.

You can listen to the whole interview here.

Source: BNR