GERB does not want to rule with “We continue the change

© Press Center of the Parliament

GERB does not want with “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria”, but it does not give up DPS. “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria” does not want with DPS, but excludes GERB for future negotiations. This is how we can summarize the result of yesterday’s removal of the Speaker of the Parliament Rosen Zhelyazkov and how it will affect the talks between political forces for a future majority in the National Assembly after the early elections in June.

Although until two months ago, GERB and “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria” ruled together, albeit without a coalition agreement, as of today this seems completely impossible. Or at least according to their representatives. As the culmination of the break in their relations, the removal of Zhelyazkov from the post can be accepted, but the constant inclusion of the DPS in the conversation about the future government shows that it was the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and which political force is closer to it that drove the two parties apart from another.

Absolutely everything is lost

On the sidelines of the parliament, GERB leader Boyko Borisov rejected any possibility of future talks with “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria”. According to him, his partners in power until recently should not have initiated the removal of the Speaker of the Parliament. That’s why he announced that a new coalition has already emerged between the parties that voted for Zhelyazkov’s removal from office.

“Yesterday they (note ed. “Continuing the change – Democratic Bulgaria” sowed such a wind that the storm will not pass them by. Absolutely everything is lost. They should have supported their colleagues and friends, not agreed with “Vazrazhdane” and to sit on their lap,” said Borisov.

He did not comment on the possibility of general government with the DPS, stressing that everything depends on the outcome of the elections. According to him, it is quite possible that there will be new political subjects in the future parliament, pointing out the inclusion in the campaign of Vanya Grigorova, who lost the mayoral elections in Sofia by a small margin. According to Borisov, “she is the real winner” in the local vote. The leader of GERB did not rule out the possibility of his party winning a convincing victory, which would facilitate it in future negotiations for a cabinet. He warned his political opponents not to use it in their election campaign.

“When someone makes an election campaign on my back, they should know that it is big and slippery. Many people climbed on it and many fell,” Borisov said.

In front of “Nova TV”, GERB MP Daniel Mitov also tried to avoid an answer to the question of whether his party would talk to DPS about general management, after refusing such with “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria”. He did not see a problem in the fact that the co-chairman of the DPS Delyan Peevski was sanctioned for corruption under the global “Magnitsky” law.

“We still don’t have the results of the elections to start the conversation with who we will govern. After the elections, we can see with which parties and on which topics we have matches. For Bulgarian political life, what is important is what the voters decided, and not so much whether a party leader is in “Magnitsky”, Mitov added.

The door is open for GERB, but not for DPS

For their part, representatives of “Continuing the change – Democratic Bulgaria” did not rule out the possibility of governing together with GERB again, but set a condition – complete separation from DPS and signing a reform document. Kiril Petkov’s chief of staff as prime minister, Lena Borislavova, told BBC that the coalition “in no form” will hold talks with the DPS after the elections. She also admitted to a mistake in the formation of the so-called assembly with GERB for the “Denkov-Gabriel” cabinet.

“We entered this assembly, but we did not appreciate how dependent GERB is on DPS. The head of GERB is Delyan Peevski. Even Hristo Ivanov, who has a long experience in politics, is surprised at how strong this dependence is. Peevski is not ready for our reforms , and we refused to guarantee a DPS quota in the regulators and state-owned institutions,” added Borislavova.

© Yulia Lazarova

She added that if Borisov made and kept a commitment to independent competitions for members of the regulators, which she identified as the biggest fear for him and Peevski, then joint management could be discussed.

“GERB will be freed from DPS by signing the reforms we propose”, added Lena Borislavova.

In a more humorous style, the MP from “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria” Yavor Bozhankov expressed a similar opinion to “Nova TV”.

“The dialogue was blown up by GERB because of a lack of basic agreement on national interests. “We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria” does not want GERB’s dowry. They wanted to include a third partner in the management without the need. The door to GERB is open, but two people , which are larger, can hardly enter,” said Bozhankov.