site.btaUPDATED Georg Georgiev Says No Majority Whatsoever Possible Without GERB

Meeting with GERB activists in Pernik, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said Wednesday's developments showed several important things: no majority whatsoever is possible without GERB. The meeting was attended by MPs, mayors and municipal councillors.

Georgiev said neither the National Assembly nor the Council of Ministers can do without GERB. The last four years have proved that without GERB, there can be no stability or security in the country in any sense, he added.

On Tuesday, GERB leader Boyko Borissov told the GERB-UDF parliamentary group and Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov that his party would no longer help maintain a quorum in Parliament, casting a doubt on whether GERB would remain part of the government. Borissov asked the MPs to go back to their constituencies and Parliament lacked a quorum on Wednesday. Also, the Prime Minister called off the Cabinet's regular meeting scheduled for that day.

"Everyone who has tried to exploit GERB has shown what they are capable of - chaos, disorder and destruction in every political sector," Georgiev said.

He also noted that while the Zhelyazkov Cabinet has sought to put the State first, it has become clear that the party's support was eroding. "While we work, while our name is being exploited, and while constant manoeuvres pairing Borisov with Peevski are taking place, everyone else has been hiding conveniently behind our broad shoulders," Georgiev added.

He added that, following Tuesday's reactions and the position that was expressed solely by GERB's partners from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, it is clear that the current situation cannot and should not continue. "If responsibility is to be taken, if the positives are to be shared, then the government's work must also be shared, instead of just GERB bearing the full burden."

Georgiev noted that the government can be reconfigured through a variety of democratic and institutional mechanisms, such as forming a new cabinet within the current National Assembly or holding a vote of confidence.

"We see that the coalition partners currently in government alone cannot muster the necessary 121 votes [in the 240-seat Parliament]. In all decisions we make, MRF-New Beginning also participates, and there is no other way, because the democrats from Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) hide conveniently behind empty political slogans. Even today they could not answer the simple question of when they consider the President to be pro-Russian and when he is democratic, when he works in the national interest, and when they disagree with his international statements. A majority cannot be formed with them because they neither know how to govern nor how to make decisions," Georgiev told reporters.

He stressed that the message is clear: all who are committed to the State, are concerned about what happens, and want to get more positive results for Bulgaria must talk and channel this through a legitimate state institution - the government.

The MRF-New Beginning, which has stated its governance ambitions and speaks of actions requiring decisions, must also share responsibility. That is the most logical and normal approach, said Georgiev.

"All doors are open. We need to talk and see how the current situation can be placed into a clear, visible, and institutional state framework," he added.

The Foreign Minister also said the current government enjoys clear international support from Bulgaria's European and transatlantic partners. "It has achieved a great deal in foreign policy and is determined to continue, with clear commitments from GERB and Boyko Borissov to our coalition partners. For this coalition formula to persist, it must at least command the arithmetic majority of 121 MPs, and this can only be achieved with GERB's participation," he said.

"We are ready for an honest and open dialogue. Elections are always an option, but that is a nuclear option, which I am sure no one wants to trigger, as it is precisely what led to caretaker governments (…), chaos and disorder, lack of clear social responsibility, and decision-making behind the closed doors of institutions that now comfortably exploit what they call 'political instability'," Georg Georgiev said in Pernik.