site.btaMECh Leader Says New Caretaker Cabinet Includes “Shocking Names” and Will Not Receive Party Support

Commenting on the composition of the new caretaker cabinet, Radostin Vasilev, Chair of the Morality, Unity, Honour party (MECh), said that the line-up contained what he described as “shocking names” that could not receive his party’s backing.

Vasilev singled out Stoil Tzitzelkov, noting that he had previously been arrested in connection with alcohol and drugs. He called on caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov to immediately dismiss Tzitzelkov from his post as minister and deputy prime minister responsible for ensuring fair elections.

He added that MECh would also not support Nadezhda Neynsky, Atanas Zapryanov, Hasan Ademov, Georgi Klisurski, Michail Okoliyski, Traicho Traikov, Korman Ismailov, Georgi Sharkov, and Irena Georgieva.

Vasilev said he had initially placed trust in Gurov, hoping that the prime minister could use what he described as his final chance for political prominence to go down in history as the start of dismantling the GERB-MRF governance model. Instead, he argued, the current prime minister was merely expressing hope for fair elections, whereas it was his responsibility to organize them.

According to Vasilev, Gurov was making a false start, while President Iliana Iotova was acting hypocritically because she could have rejected the cabinet but chose to approve it. He predicted the emergence of a post-election governing arrangement involving Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria and GERB, along with what he called remnants linked to former MRF chair Ahmed Dogan.

Vasilev further siad that the caretaker cabinet would only be able to replace acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov if what he termed the “shadow power” decided to do so.

Asked whether he suspected that the caretaker cabinet might attempt to cover up the Petrohan case, Vasilev replied that such suspicions already existed based on the cabinet members’ public statements prior to their appointment.