site.bta Socialists, Ataka, Bulgarian Democratic Centre Will Not Sign MRF's No-Confidence Motion

Socialists, Ataka, Bulgarian Democratic Centre Will Not Sign MRF's No-Confidence Motion


Sofia, January 22 (BTA) - Representatives of the parliamentary
groups of BSP-Left Bulgaria, Ataka and the Bulgarian Democratic
Centre on Thursday said they will not sign a possible
no-confidence motion by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms
(MRF) over "the xenophobic statements and lies of Health
Minister Peter Moskov".

On Tuesday, MRF leader Lyutvi  Mestan threatened to move for a
no-confidence vote in the Cabinet if Borissov did not demand 
Moskov's resignation over his "xenophobic statements" that the
Roma community assaults doctors of the Emergency Medical 
Service. The Government stands firmly behind the healthcare  
reform and the Health Ministry's actions at this point, Prime 
Minister Boyko Borissov said at Wednesday's meeting of the
Council of Ministers.

The parliamentary group of the BSP-Left Bulgaria coalition
circulated a statement Thursday by deputy floor leader Atanas
Merdzhanov to journalists after a meeting of the group.
According to Merdzhanov, although the motives justly reflect the
 unacceptable nature of Moskov's language, they are not enough
to move for a no-confidence vote over the overall health policy
of the Cabinet. He specified that if the no-confidence motion
was put to the vote by the legislature, BSP-Left Bulgaria would
vote against the Government. Merdzhanov added that Health
Minister Moskov used "unacceptable language" which incites
hatred amongst the public and that BSP  and BSP-Left Bulgaria
firmly oppose such statements. Merdzhanov said that the BSP
places a priority on the discussion of the  economic governance
programme of the Cabinet.

MP Nikolai Alexandrov told journalists that Ataka won't support
MRF's no-confidence motion. Alexandrov said that politically
Ataka can't be part of the games of the Movement. The Ataka
group is yet to decide on how it will vote if the motion is put
to the vote in the plenary chamber. Speaking to journalists,
Bulgarian Democratic Center (BDC) deputy floor leader Roumen
Yonchev voiced an opinion that the "incoherent speech" of a
minister is not enough for the resignation of the whole cabinet.
 He said that the BDC will meet to decide whether it will sign
the motion and that the group has not been approached so far.

Speaking in the halls of Parliament, Reformist Bloc co-floor 
leader Nayden Zelenogorski said that if the no-confidence motion
 went through to the parliamentary chamber, more MPs would
support the Cabinet compared with when it was confirmed.

Dimiter Shishkov of the parliamentary Healthcare Committee said
that the MRF can't see the larger problem, which is the assault
on the medical profession.

According to the Reformist Bloc and Health Minister Moskov, the
discrepancy in the numbers publicized by the Health Ministry and
  the Interior Ministry about assaults on medics is due to the 
fact that the majority of assaults go unreported. In November 
2014, Moskov told Parliament that there were 225 reported 
assaults on medics, of which 175 were done by Roma, while 
Interior Ministry data puts the number of assaults at 17.

MRF leader Mestan told a news briefing on Thursday that his
party would go ahead with the no-confidence motion over Moskov's
  statements. Mestan said that a group has been established to 
hold consultations with other parliamentary parties and win 
support.