site.btaGERB Leader Denies Dependence on Peevski, Rules Out Budget Compromises, Criticises President

Concessions are the future, GERB will make no further compromises with the budget and will return to conservative policies, said party leader Boyko Borissov in an interview with Capital.bg, taken before President Rumen Radev announced he will step down from his position.

Borissov believes that the State should redistribute less than 40% of GDP. According to him, he has made a compromise with the current budget because he wanted the government to last until the end of the year, until the adoption of the euro.

The GERB leader denied being dependent on MRF - New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski. “If we work or vote together on anything, it is only when it is in the public interest,” he added. “I will support everything that is good for people, but I will not support anything connected to repression,” he said in response to a question on whether he would support judicial reform in the next parliament.

On judicial reform, he returned to the period of joint governance with Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria: “Back then, too, they served me judicial reform. Then I sat down with [former Democratic Bulgaria co-chair] Hristo (Ivanov) and told him: look, I do not understand this topic, what do you want to do. There are many subtleties – Supreme Judicial Council, Prosecutors Chamber, Judges Chamber. And I asked whether we could agree like this: I support everything you propose on judicial reform. They started working on judicial reform together with Peevski,” he said, adding that it later turned out some of the proposals were poorly designed.

Asked why so many people took part in the anti-government protests in November and December, he replied that the electorates of Continue the Change, Democratic Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, Velichie, MECh, and Rumen Radev had essentially managed to unite against the government. This, he said, was immediately noted by GERB. Borissov denied that any GERB minister or prime minister, party member or MP had behaved arrogantly or resorted to repression. He acknowledged that the governing partners had not had time to draft a proper coalition agreement.

Regarding the changes to the Election Code, he explained that from day one There Is Such a People had promised him support for the eurozone and the Recovery and Resilience Plan in exchange for support for the Election Code, but that there was no such arrangement with MRF - New Beginning. Borissov clarified that the issue concerned machine voting with scanning devices. “What will ultimately happen is voting with the current machines and paper ballots, and possibly adopting scanning devices for later. In fact, the entire problem of the electoral process is in the polling stations,” the GERB leader said.

“For two or three years Rumen Radev ruled the country single-handedly – without parliament, without anything. He appointed the services and prime ministers himself, which is why the constitutional amendments were reached,” the GERB leader said. Regarding Radev’s potential participation in political life, he commented that it is cynical to use planes, swimming pools and all the attributes of power while being perceived as a party leader. “What kind of president are you then? He should be equally distant from everyone,” Borissov said. According to him, Radev has not accounted for his work during his nine years as president and only criticises others. “He knows very well that I do not deal with cars or planes; as prime minister I always gave him priority,” he added.

Borissov proposed a new model for major infrastructure projects if his party wins the elections – the tunnel under Petrohan and the Rila and Black Sea motorways to be built with 100% private capital through concessions, so as not to burden taxpayers. He added that he would insist on a state that invests in supercomputers and centres of excellence in order to “pull” high-tech sectors forward, and placed emphasis on the potential of mineral resources. “GERB also prioritises the development of education and healthcare,” he said.

The GERB leader also commented on international issues and the role and position Bulgaria should take. Borissov argued that only he can manoeuvre between the EU and the US and believes the country can be fully aligned with Brussels without suffering negative consequences from Washington. “We are in the EU, not in the US, but Trump knows we are his friends. Putin will not leave the Kremlin while he is alive – that is the reality. Our borders were fully opened within Schengen because they believe they will be well protected,” the GERB leader said.