The Blue coalition will sue Ivaylo Kalfin and Sergey Stanishev for slander
Adelina Marini, June 4, 2009
The Blue coalition is outraged from the advertisement of Coalition for Bulgaria (A coalition of socialist parties) in which they claim that the government of Ivan Kostov (1997-2001) had reduced the pensions. In response, Yordan Hristoskov who was until recently president of the National social securities institute explained that the government of Kostov has inherited pensions of $3 per month which afterwords had been raised to $60 per month. "All pensions that were recalculated from the 1st of January 2000 were not reduced with even 1 cent, just the op[posite - they were increased with average of 13,60 levs (7 euro) which, related to the average pension then, is about 24%-25% increase. And those people whose pensions were diminished because of the recalculation, the amount of their pensions had been kept unchanged and they were not decreased. Furthermore, they received at the end of the year compensations, the so called Christmas allowance", added Hristoskov.
He also promised that he will cover with his own money the difference if someone could prove with documents that the pensions were actually decreased.
In his turn, the ex-social affairs minister in the government of Kostov, Ivan Neykov reminded that the UDF (United Democratic Forces) was the first and, for now, the only government that actually implemented a reform in the pension system with the clear conscience that this might lead to loosing the elections. "I realise that one of the reasons for us to loose the elections then was exactly the pensions reform. Simply because, like I said, you should be mad to be happy that the age for retirement is increased but if we haven;t done this, only a year or two after 1997 we wouldn't have how and with what to pay the pensions at all. This is what we inherited in the sphere of social security", Neykov said.
On behalf of the election staff of the Blue coalition Petar Moskov called on all media that air the advertisement of Sergey Stanishev and Ivaylo Kalfin to give the opportunity for an answer but the Blue coalition. The blues also appealed Stanishev and Kalfin to go to their office and if they manage to find even 1 order of the National social security institute for decreasing of pensions, the Blue Coalition will then pay the $3 - that was how much was the average pension in the beginning of 1997 after the socialist government of Zhan Videnov.
Answering a question whether it wasn't possible some pensions to had been decreased because of the denomination of the Bulgarian currency, the lev, Hristoskov explained that the elders could buy 10 kg of cheese with their pensions before and after the denomination.