site.btaPoliticians React after Swearing-in Ceremony of Caretaker PM Andrey Gurov and His Cabinet

Following the swearing-in ceremony of caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov and his cabinet before the National Assembly on Thursday, political reactions from the parliamentary forces ensued. President Iliana Iotova, who attended the ceremony, also commented to the media.

 “I have no way of raising objections to the composition of the caretaker cabinet, because it is not my choice,” Iotova  said. She added that she does have certain reservations about some of the members of the cabinet and while she is aware of the political affiliations of some of its members, she places trust in their professional experience.

Representatives of GERB-UDF said they disagreed with claims that President Iliana Iotova bears no responsibility for the caretaker government. “With regard to the prime minister, we agree that the choice was limited, but as for the composition of the cabinet, we cannot agree that Iotova carries no responsibility,” GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader Denitsa Sacheva told reporters in Parliament on Thursday.

Speaking at GERB’s headquarters later on Thursday, party leader Boyko Borissov said, “From this point on, the government is entirely Ms. Iotova’s responsibility and there is no backing out.” The caretaker government must ensure fair elections, he added. Commenting on Deputy Prime Minister for Fair Elections Stoil Tzitzelkov, Borissov described the appointment as “a major misstep on the part of caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov and President Iotova.“ “If it is true that he has been banned by the EU from serving as an election observer in other countries for five years, that is a very serious sanction,” Borissov said.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) – New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski gave a statement for the party's press centre on Thursday that they do not support the oath of office of the "Iotova-Soros-Petrohan" caretaker Cabinet. According to Peevski, this is not an oath of "servants of the people", but rather "hypocrisy and betrayal". He stated that they will not support those, whose protections harmed Bulgaria's children.

There Is Such a People (TISP) again tied the new government to the Petrohan crime case, echoing allegations circulated on Wednesday by TISP itself, Vazrazhdane and MRF-New Beginning. Reading a declaration on behalf of his parliamentary group on Thursday, TISP Floor Leader Toshko Yordanov said that “the ministers of the 'Petrohan cabinet' will take the oath without shame, without remorse and without a gram of conscience.”

TISP Deputy Floor Leader Stanislav Balabanov speaking to reporters in the parliamentary lobby said that at the time of his oath, Gurov had not submitted his resignation as deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), as required by law.

Following Balabanov’s statement, National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan announced that Parliament had received a letter from caretaker Prime Minister Gurov, stating that taking into consideration his appointment as a Caretaker Prime Minister, he hands in his letter of resignation as BNB deputy governor.

Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria MP Stoyu Stoev explained to journalists that there is no issue with Andrey Gurov's resignation as BNB deputy governor. He pointed out that the majority, with the exception of TISP, had united around the opinion of National Assembly Chair Raya Nazarian that Gurov's powers as deputy governor of the BNB had been terminated by law upon his appointment as caretaker prime minister.

Commenting on the composition of the new caretaker cabinet, Radostin Vasilev, Chair of 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.