GERB leader Boyko Borisov says tourism on the Black Sea coast has been "wrecked" by attacks on ships in the Black Sea, and that he cannot explain why fuel prices have gone up.
Borisov was in Vratsa at the national academy of the "New Minds" party, where he met party members from the region.
He said that when GERB was in power, it planned to develop the Black Sea coast as a centre for tourism and trade, and that tourism income was at record levels in that period.
Petrol now costs €1.94 a litre and diesel €2.15. Borisov said that in 2020, when Bulgaria was dealing with a migrant crisis and the Covid crisis, prices were lower, at about €0.92 (1.80 leva) a litre. "The refinery is state-owned. I don't understand why prices have to go up," he said. The GERB leader said events in the Strait of Hormuz should not affect prices in Bulgaria.
The war between Russia and Ukraine is causing huge economic losses across Europe, Borisov added.
He described the candidates in the coming presidential election as heavyweight party figures. He said he believes none of them can unite the nation or is fit to be commander-in-chief.