site.btaBorissov: GERB-MRF Split Would Topple Government

The government is not stable, GERB leader Boyko Borissov told reporters during a visit to the village of Aydemir, Silistra Region, on Friday. “A split between GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) – New Beginning will topple the government,” he added.

“At the moment this rickety construction which we have, made up of the three parties [GERB, Bulgarian Socialist Party – United Left, There Is Such a People] in the majority, demands the highest responsibility from the each one of those parties. New Beginning will not move in a direction as to topple the government,” Borissov added.

According to him, if this happens, each party will have to explain to voters the reasons for the dissolution of the government.

Asked weather a balance between powers is possible, Borissov said that a balance might be achieved if the country “has a president who observes the Constitution and unifies the nation”. “What balance could there be? For months the government has been working without ambassadors, chief secretary [of the Interior Ministry], head of the State Agency for National Security. At military ceremonies, while handing epaulettes to cadets, the head of State talks against a democratically elected government made up of three parties,” the leader of GERB added.

Asked about the Government's plans to sell 4,400 state-owned properties, Borissov argued that there is good synchronization between President Rumen Radev, the Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning, as in his eyes they are competing for political space to the left of centre.

Borissov said that his party is right-wing and believes that the State is a poor steward to those properties. He argued that neither the Government nor the Parliament is trying to privatize anything and does not understand who the opposition is defending the State-owned property from. According to him, transparency and partnership with the private sector are needed to prevent state properties from falling into disrepair and becoming overgrown with weeds.

"For 15-20 years, GERB has been in various types of government. We have had five governments. Is there any state property that has been sold or privatized that we should be ashamed of? The battle in the center-left is so great that every day they look for a reason because they have nothing else to do. A group of left-wing parties, led by a populist President, are making things up in the middle of summer because the CC MPs said they would defend state property with their bodies. At the same time, DB presents itself as a right-wing party. Peevski defends them too. And Radev defends them," Borissov said.

He gave as a positive example the former barracks in Stara Zagora and Shumen, which his governments had transferred to the municipalities. According to him, today there are parks and sports halls in place of the dilapidated buildings.

Borissov’s expectations from the upcoming meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are that there will be a plan and that it will be positive. After the Trump-Putin meeting there will be transpositions, stoppage of the war, and the arms industry will also be affected, the leader of the GERB party told journalists in Aydemir, Silistra Region, Friday.

“After all, the two superpowers, their administrations would not have agreed to a summit meeting at a symbolic location without some kind of plan, which I hope will be positive for both Ukraine and Russia,” Borissov commented. “At all meetings so far, there have been agreements on the exchange of prisoners of war. Soldiers on the frontline do not want to fight because this is not a war for their country. Everyone sees that it is a political game, which is why so many prisoners of war are being exchanged,” he added.

Regarding the fires in Bulgaria, Borissov said that he had spoken to Interior Minister Daniel Mitov a few days ago. “At the moment, several public tenders are pending, companies are suing each other, and a lot of funding allocated for fire trucks, vehicles, and clothing has been lost over the years in procedures,” he added. According to Borissov, Minister Mitov could seek consensus on the issue in the National Assembly and ask the MPs to select a company because people are getting "burnt" at the fires. “Firefighters currently have some of the best equipment and clothing,” he added. 

Borissov also responded to questions about the Programme for Exercising Rights over State-Owned Properties and Properties Owned by State Public Enterprises tabled to the National Assembly.