site.btaGERB Leader Discloses Details of Government Talks with CC-DB, Complains of Pressure from Foreign Ministers to Change Interior Minister, eGovernment Minister

Speaking to reporters in Parliament on Tuesday, GERB leader Boyko Borissov disclosed details from the talks with Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) on a coalition agreement and a government lineup after the planned rotation, and complained that he had calls from a non-EU foreign minister lobbying for replacement of the Interior Minister and the Electronic Governance Minister. 

He said that he has conferred with Continue the Change Co-chair Assen Vassilev and Democratic Bulgaria (DB) Co-floor leader Atanas Atanasov on Thursday and Friday to continue the negotiations on forming a new regular government. 

Borissov said that no one else from the GERB-UDF parliamentary group was willing to talk to them because, in his words, during the negotiations his fellow party members have heard enough insults.

„On Friday, I received a text message from Vassilev to meet and form a government. I thanked him for responding immediately after I called him,“ the leader of GERB said, adding that on Thursday he had told Atanasov that he was doing everything to make the talks work.

“I wanted very much to have a government,” Borissov said, adding that for this reason GERB had chosen a negotiating team, which had been trying to reach agreements on all points for nearly 20 days.

"During this time we heard all sorts of insults aimed at intimidating us", the GERB leader further argued, warning that he is not as easily intimidated as others might think he is. Borissov also said that now, as always, he was dialogical and conceding, and put the state before the party.

Borissov added that "something else started on the phone, something unacceptable, something exposing Bulgaria" respectable people, including people from non-EU countries, starting call on behalf of [CC-DB co-leader] Mr [Kiril] Petkov to pressure me over [replacing] the interior minister". He said he would not mention the people who called him out of respect for them. And after that "GERB made a final decision to defend state institutions and democracy", to use Borissov's words.