site.btaHead of State, GERB-UDF Trade Barbs about Cabinet Resignation, Caretaker Governments, Upcoming Elections

President Rumen Radev met with GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader Denitsa Sacheva on Monday in the first government-forming consultation after the resignation of the Rosen Zhelyazkov Cabinet. The two exchanged barbs on various topics including the resignation, formation of caretaker governments and the potential upcoming elections.

Sacheva was the only representative of the largest political force to attend the meeting, which was open to the media from start to finish – unlike the customary practice whereby the talks are public at the beginning and then continue behind closed doors.

The President seized the opportunity to attack and thanked her “for coming and sparing the men in your party from embarrassment”. “History has often shown that men hide behind women, so this does you credit,” Radev said.

“The only general in politics that I work for knows very well when it is time for men and when it is time for women. So far, his decisions have shown that wisdom is more important than a crude display of force,” Sacheva replied. She added that GERB-UDF will not take part in another cabinet in the 51st National Assembly.

Resignation and State Budget

Bulgarian citizens expect stability and responsibility in governance – regardless of who is in power – especially with regard to the 2026 budget and the introduction of the euro, in the complex situation in which Bulgaria finds itself, the head of State said at the beginning of the meeting.

“Our behaviour was clear: we acknowledge our mistakes, particularly with regard to the first version of the budget, but we were left with the impression that even you yourself, in your public statements, called for new elections,” Sacheva responded. A proposal for the extension of the 2025 State Budget will be submitted “today, in the next few hours”, she added.

The President told Sacheva that the Government’s fall was “the natural ending of a governance model” in which the voices of the people were not heard, rash decisions were made regarding the adoption of the euro, and no measures were taken to contain price spikes.

“As far as prices are concerned, everything that needs to be done by the government is under way and progressing,” the GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader assured.

Radev also said that the GERB-led coalition “showed wisdom and submitted its resignation as a result of the large-scale protests that swept across the country”. “You are also expected to show responsibility, and the Government led by your party should continue to fully carry out its constitutional duties,” the head of State added.

Sacheva stressed that under this Government Bulgaria had become a member of land-based Schengen and the eurozone, more than BGN 8 billion in additional revenues had been collected, and the monitoring mechanism of the Council of Europe had been lifted - political achievements, she said, that must be taken into account. The MP also recalled that they had requested a 20-day extension in order for the draft budget, already coordinated with employers’ organizations and trade unions, to be adopted. Unfortunately, she said, political leaders who tried to ride the protests and turn them into a spectacle – as well as the President himself – called more for resignation and elections than for allowing this window of opportunity to fulfil their commitments. “We listened to those voices,” Sacheva added.

“Success always has many fathers. Schengen and the eurozone are not the achievements of a single government. I have never said that there should be an extended budget. Under the Constitution, the government is obliged to fulfil its duties in full until it is replaced by a caretaker cabinet,” Radev commented further.

Elections and Caretaker Cabinets

Sacheva urged the head of State to set a date for elections and to take part in them with his own political project. “For us, entering the presidential institution nowadays is like entering the largest party headquarters in the country,” said the GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader.

“As for my political project – I am not talking about such a thing, but for years there has been constant talk and insinuation. This is not the place to debate whether it exists or not. I propose that we do not allow these consultations to turn into an election campaign,” the head of State said.

Sacheva reminded the President that when he took office during his first term in the 44th National Assembly, after delivering his speech he looked at them and said: “You have only one week left.” “Since then, the challenges between Parliament and the President seem never to have stopped. I do not think we need more fists, more slaps, more division. People are simply saying that we need to work together,” she noted.

The GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader noted that during the country's "transition period" (from 1989 until now) there have so far been 11 caretaker governments, seven of them appointed by Radev. "This could hardly be a symbol of national unity. Rather, it points to work in the direction of deep division, which destroys public trust and leads people to become disillusioned with institutions in general, not just with one government or another," she added.

“The fact that I have had many caretaker governments during my term is not due to the Presidential institution, but to the inability of political parties to form a government or to retain power. I have had no burning desire whatsoever to form caretaker governments,” Radev replied.

He dismissed accusations that he stands against parliamentarianism. “The divisions did not originate in this building [of the President’s administration]; they originated in the parties and in a governance model that does not work for people but for narrow party interests and a few individuals who claim every day to be working for the people. This is where the government collapsed, because it demonstrated unjustified control over institutions, far removed from the rules governing a democratic European state,” the head of State said.

Radev asked Sacheva what GERB-UDF’s position was on changes to the Election Code.

She replied that, in her view, it would be difficult to reach consensus on this issue in the current Parliament. “That does not mean the issues will not be discussed in the National Assembly - it will decide. Another question is how appropriate it is for amendments to the Code to be made immediately ahead of elections,” the GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader commented.