site.btaGERB Have No Involvement with Sofia Public Transport Protests - Party Leader Borissov

Speaking at a meeting with municipal councilors at GERB’s headquarters on Monday, party leader Boyko Borissov said that GERB had had no involvement in the public transport protests in Sofia and had not interfered with the work of Mayor Vassil Terziev. “These are entirely trade union actions,” Borissov added. He was joined by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, and his statement was broadcast on Facebook.

“For days we have been hearing about political interference in what I would call a scandal,” Borissov said. He added that “leaving people without transport for a week is nothing short of a scandal.“

In his words, during a Monday morning meeting with the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers, serious concerns were raised about the impact of the strike on the state matriculation exams on May 21 and 23. Borissov explained that school principals need to submit lists of pupils who require transportation, and even the possibility of using Border Police vans was discussed.

Borissov criticized Mayor Terziev for what he described as a "laid-back" attitude in the face of this issue and for failing to address the Municipal Council. “I guarantee that GERB is not involved in these protests,” the GERB leader said. “When Paris or Berlin is brought to a halt, is it the mafia who stages the strike? When Lufthansa or British Air[ways] goes on strike, is the mafia to blame there? It is too easy to shift blame onto others,” Borissov said. 

Commenting on the government’s decision to allocate BGN 15 million to Sofia Municipality to resolve the crisis, Borissov called it “wrong but justified under the circumstances.” He said that taxpayer money would go to Sofia’s public transport drivers and this raises the question of equal treatment for others. “It is a flawed policy, but necessary given the matriculation exams and the chaos caused by Mayor Terziev,” Borissov said. “We will support a decision such as the one that Prime Minister Zhelyazkov and the Finance Minister [Temenuzhka Petkova] have taken today because of the matriculation exams,” Borissov said.

He also urged the municipal councilors to contact the trade unions again to make sure that what has been decided is a fact and to ask for transport services to resume on Tuesday – or even Monday evening, if possible.