OR IF
President Georgi Purvanov threatened to ask Parliament to call a referendum on changing the electoral system if political parties fail to hear his demands, the presidency website said on June 30. Purvanov wants Parliament to amend the electoral system by introducing a stronger element of majoritarian elections within a mixed electoral system and changes in the political parties’ financing.

NOT SERIOUS
M&C Saatchi Sydney, the advertising agency that won a Silver Lion award at the Cannes Lions 2008 international advertising festival with an advert that described Bulgarians as having “fingers like large salamis”, apologised for the ad. “My sincere apologies to you and your fellow Bulgarians. This was never meant to be taken seriously,” M&C Saatchi told The Sofia Echo in an email.

PUBLIC INCOMES
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev’s income did not change in 2007 and he did not acquire a single property last year, according to his income declaration for 2007, published by the National Audit Office. President Georgi Purvanov took a loan of 80 000 leva in 2007 and together with his wife bought a plot of agricultural land for the sum of 45 238 leva. Former Bulgarian king and former prime minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg stated that he has 3.8 million leva in the bank, salaries being the source of the income, of which 3.6 million were in a foreign bank.

BE COOL
The Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) dismissed, as groundless rumour, reports of increased background radiation. On June 28, rumours suggested that there was an incident at Bulgaria’s only nuclear power plant in Kozloduy. On July 1, NRA said that there was no reason for concern and that no increase had been registered in background radiation. Also on July 1, similar rumours suggested an incident in the Czech Republic. It was also firmly dismissed.

HIGH STAKES
The district court in the town of Turgovishte, north-eastern Bulgaria, has opened a case against a local resident based on the Criminal Asset Forfeiture act, Bulgarian-language Trud daily said on July 1. The case is about 4.2 million leva, the largest claim filed by the authorities under the act so far.

GAPS
The Ilinden checkpoint on Bulgarian-Greek border had gaps in its papers and therefore did not exist as a legal entity, State Administration Minister Nikolai Vassilev said on July 1. He gave institutions one month to fix the problem, otherwise the checkpoint, opened in 2005, will be closed.