site.btaCC Chair Vassilev: Coalition Formats Exhausted, One Party with Clear Mandate Should Govern Bulgaria

If Bulgarians want Bulgaria to become a rich, fair, and European country, they must go out and vote, giving a clear mandate to one party to govern, Continue the Change (CC) Chair Assen Vassilev told Bulgarian National Radio on Sunday. "We have tried coalitions in all kinds of formats and have seen that they do not work," he added.  

He stressed that one party needs to govern and take responsibility. "When we formed the assemblage [with GERB-UDF in 2023], it was to join Schengen and the eurozone. That has happened. Now there are no such things that stand as a supranational goal for Bulgaria. The main goal is to remove the mafia from power. That is why there must be one party that takes responsibility and fights this battle, because it will be a battle," Vassilev added. 

Taking a question, the CC leader said that a joint candidate with GERB for the presidential elections this year is impossible. This is clearly stated in the agreement the CC has signed with Democratic Bulgaria, Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, and the Forum for Democratic Action, he recalled. Vassilev added that "our explicit condition is that there be no interaction with GERB."

Vassilev also commented on the topic of introducing the euro as the official currency in Bulgaria on January 1, 2026. "There have been attempts by certain traders and individuals to be cunning. In addition, there was a problem with the banks, but after the intervention of the Bulgarian National Bank, it was overcome. The issue was that banks wanted to charge people wishing to exchange BGN for EUR without being their customers," said the former finance minister, adding that there is no EU format in which Bulgaria does not participate on an equal footing with all other European countries.