site.btaMariya Gabriel: Parties Should Keep in Mind They Will Need to Work Together after Likely Elections

The campaign for the ever more likely early parliamentary elections should be conducted in a way that allows the parties to treat each other with respect after the elections, outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel told journalists on Thursday. She noted: "If we are headed for elections, the campaign period should be used to identify the things that matter to the Bulgarian citizens, the reforms and the way they should be made, so we can give ourselves a chance to go back to dealing with each other with respect after the elections, with a clear commitment about what we want to do, and to keep manipulation and division from gaining the upper hand."

Gabriel thanked outgoing Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov "for helping to ensure that he and I never crossed the line beyond which it would be impossible to talk to one another". She stressed the importance of the political culture of dialogue and respect for the other, and deplored the constant setting of new conditions during negotiations and the failure to identify a shared goal.

Gabriel declined to predict whether she may hold a government position after the elections. She vowed to continue to discharge her duties as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister conscientiously until the last day of the present government. She argued that staying focused on her current job is the best thing to do. "It is important to show that the government is committed to Bulgaria's development according to European standards and its being a trusted and reliable partner to the other member states of the EU and NATO," she said.