site.btaGERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader on Outgoing Government, Early Elections

Interviewed by bTV on Sunday evening, GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader Denitsa Sacheva said the Rosen Zhelyazkov government was brought down by overambition, which had collided with what she called the opposition's "overpopulism". The government resigned on December 11 after massive protests across Bulgaria. 

The government led by GERB-UDF, in coalition with BSP-United Left and There Is Such a People, was formed to stop the spiral of elections, because that was very important, Sacheva said. "In five years Bulgaria held seven elections, for which we as a society spent BGN 1 billion, the amount  we are now looking for to increase incomes."

In her view, all systems have stalled because they have been operating amid constant instability. "We have had a total of 11 caretaker governments, seven of them in the past five years," she added.

"In our overambition to achieve many results during the government's 11 months and to make up for lost time, there was certainly also some overconfidence and arrogance on our part as power-holders, in trying to deliver results, such as more legislation adopted in a shorter time," Sacheva said.

She described the coalition as very difficult, since all participants had different visions of how Bulgaria should develop. "The party I represent [GERB] was largely the glue between all the entities in the governing coalition and incurred the greatest negatives, despite striving to be the voice of reason."

Sacheva stressed that in the past five years, in all their actions, even in the limited time they had in parliament or as participants in government, GERB-UDF had sought to take decisive steps to move the country forward on its main strategic priorities. She listed Bulgaria's entry in the Schengen boder-free area, the eurozone, the resumption of payments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, combating smuggling and increasing tax revenues, and 50,000 children returning to school.

Regarding Delyan Peevski's support for the government, Sacheva said he participates in Bulgarian politics not because GERB chooses him, but because there are people who vote for his party, MRF-New Beginning. There are matters on which they have worked together, such as entry in the eurozone, and others on which they are rivals, such as elections in mixed-population regions.

In her view, voters have made it clear through all elections so far that they will not give any political party a full majority. The Deputy Floor Leader said that if all parties insist on winning a clear majority, it could mean a prolonged absence of government.