site.btaUPDATED GERB Does not Want Early Elections, Seeks Talks with MRF-New Beginning on "Government Reformatting" on Condition that TISP and BSP Are Involved

Following a meeting of the party top leadership with the participation of ministers, MPs, and mayors, GERB leader Boyko Borissov and Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said that the party does not want snap elections and would be seeking talks with MRF-New Beginning on what he calls “reformatting the Cabinet” - but only provided GERB's government coalition partners There Is Such a People (TISP) and BSP - United Left participate as well. “Peevski should be spoken to directly, face to face. The others — those who don’t want this to happen — should offer another option. I have no other option,” Borissov said.

The government skipped its weekly meeting this week and Parliament has been unable to secure quorum for a third day now and is not sitting. That is exactly three days after Borissov said that the GERB deputies should head for their constituencies to meet with people. It was his reaction to the outcome of local elections in Pazardzhik where MRF-New Beginning emerged as the leading force and GERB slumped to the sixth position. "I see no place for GERB in such a government. We are the sixth-largest force," he said on October 14, triggering talk of imminent early elections.

Borissov's remark prompted MRF - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski to say that they were ready to officially "share the government responsibility". Speaking to reporters in the corridors of Parliament on Friday,  he said that there would be no early parliamentary elections. “There will be no elections. I said that a long time ago,” he stressed.

On Friday, the GERB leader said that he had hoped Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CCP-DB) would say they are ready to meet and talk, to support the government on specific issues and help form a majority — but they didn’t. “The only one who firmly stood up and said he supports the government was Delyan Peevski and MRF – New Beginning,” he added.

Of Delyan Peevski, he also said: “I’ve known him for 20 years and I know what I can count on. I know that when I ask something of him, he respects it, and when he asks me to do something, I follow through — we both keep our word.”

He said that he had asked Prime Minister Zhelyazkov to talk to GERB’s government coalition partners, There Is Such a People (TISP) and BSP – United Left, about working with MRF – New Beginning. “If TISP and BSP are okay with it, invite them and talk. If not — we won’t do it alone,” Borissov concluded. 

It transpired from what Borissov and Zhelyazkov said that talks have started with TISP and BSP and will continue on October 20.

Borissov said of them that they “had gone into hiding again.”

In Zhelyazkov’s words, the two parties have “expressed a willingness to approach the matter with political responsibility and acknowledged the need for this government to have solid political support within the coalition”. “But we need to have that conversation — so that the responsibility doesn’t rest solely on GERB," he said.

Prime Minister Zhelyazkov said that although his party, being the leading political force in the country, "can easily raise the question of early elections, now is not the time". He emphasized that calling elections would mean voting in February, right at the start of a challenging year marked by budgetary pressures, the planned introduction of the euro, and a volatile geopolitical environment.

Of the local elections in Pazardzhik, Zhelyazkov said they "serve as a litmus test, indicating that the coalition needs to engage in serious discussions".

He went on to catalogue the challenges ahead. “We are about to submit the draft state budget for 2026, which addresses the challenges of the coming year — a year that is also an election year. The presidential elections will become a political wager on the country’s future geopolitical orientation. […] We need to go through the [euro adoption] process steadily and smoothly at the beginning of next year. That’s why stability is needed, because the sabotage of the government and the rising social tensions — the full palette we’ve seen since the start of this political season — are still ahead of us. And if Parliament fails to achieve consensus and social peace, then we will have no choice but to go to elections — with the clear understanding that elections will solve nothing. 

The reactions

The opposition grabbed an opportunity to blast GERB for what they see as a decision to invite MRF – New Beginning into the government through the official entrance.

The leader of the opposition Continue the Change party, Assen Vassilev, commented that Boyko Borissov has completely surrendered to MRF - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski. Vassilev wrote on Facebook: "In his 25-minute one-man show, Boyko Borissov surrendered to Delyan Peevski by saying, 'I know that when I ask him for something, he respects it, and when he asks me to do something, I follow through'."

Yes, Bulgaria Co-chair Ivaylo Mirchev told a news briefing that Bulgaria is in huge danger, because "we are heading towards soft dictatorship, toward MRF - New Beginning finally taking full control of all power in Bulgaria." He also accused the GERB leader of lying when saying that CC-DB were in no way ready, had not set any conditions and had not reached out to join such a government. "We did it and put our conditions on the table last year. They were that Peevski should not be involved in the government," Mirchev recalled. "Borissov then got scared and chose to govern with Peevski. He is continuing in the same vein, admitting that he has known Peevski for 20 years," added Mirchev.

The leader of the opposition Vazrazhdane party, Kostadin Kostadinov, commented on Facebook Friday that MRF - New Beginning leader Delyan Peevski "has sent into retirement" GERB Chair Boyko Borissov. In Parliament earlier, Kostadinov told journalists that the legislature and government “are broken” and that the best solution for Bulgaria is new elections. His comment before the Borissov statement was that GERB-UDF and MRF - New Beginning depend on each other, which is not sustainable because GERB cannot accept being subordinate to anyone – which is why GERB would be seeking elections. At the same time, Peevski cannot continue without GERB and will do his best to buy votes in future elections.