site.btaABV Leader Purvanov: ABV's Main Task Is to Win Presidential Elections

ABV Leader Purvanov: ABV's Main Task Is to Win  Presidential Elections

Sofia, May 15 (BTA) - The ABV party's main task this year is to win the presidential elections together with its coalition partners, said ABV leader and ex-president Georgi Purvanov (2002-2012) in his report presented at the 2nd National Conference of ABV on Sunday.

In his words, in the forthcoming presidential elections ABV will go against the "GERB model" of a head of State and against President Rosen Plevneliev's policy.

According to Purvanov, the question of forming a united political alternative is key for winning the presidential elections. "However, the horizon of this coalition policy does not reach only until autumn: a new strategic coalition project is needed," he added.

He expressed certainty that after May 8, when the Congress of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) elected its new leader, the dialogue with the Left wing will be restarted, but this does mean that ABV will stop seeking a coalition formula with the political centre. Purvanov added that the presidential elections are not the place where the clash between the Left and the Right wing will take place, nor will they be a battle for Bulgaria's geo-strategical direction.
  
In his words, the next head of State needs to uphold the national interest and restore the president's role of a president of all Bulgarian citizens. "The new Bulgarian president will strengthen Bulgaria position as an unavoidable factor in the EU on important matters for the Union, will restore the good and mutually beneficial relations with Russia, and will work towards the restart of the big energy projects. He will not be absent from the regional policy - he will restore Bulgaria's role of a leader on the Balkans," he added. He went on to say that the new head of State will be a guarantor of the Army's development, a possible mediator in social and political conflicts, a visionary, and a strategist who mobilizes the scientific and expert potential.

"Today, when we firmly reject the policy of Turkish President Erdogan and of his regime, let us not sound anti-Turkish, let as not allow regret among our compatriots. Let us not create permanently aggravated relations in the region because the incumbents change but the peoples remain," he noted.

Purvanov described ABV's withdrawal from the Government as worthy and as a proof that the party does not see power as an end in itself. "The limit of our compromises in the government has been reached," he noted. In his words, the big problem lies not in the lack of dialogue but in the absence of efficiency in the Cabinet's work. The Government is weak and there is no potential for a possible change in its work, the ABV leader commented.
  
After listing ABV Deputy Chair Ivailo Kalfin's achievements as labour and social policy minister, Purvanov said that he was the best social minister during Bulgaria's transition period and clearly stood out among his colleagues in the Cabinet.

Purvanov denied the claims made by GERB Floor Leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov that ABV left the ruling coalition because of the initiated drilling for natural gas and oil in the Black Sea. "I welcome all efforts for the achievement of local gas and oil extraction," Purvanov underscored. In his words, the incumbents talk about diversification but nothing has been done for years.

Approached by journalists, Kalfin said that his party will seek broader agreement before starting to speak about a presidential nominee. No candidates will be discussed at this national conference, he added.

Commenting on ABV's withdrawal from power, Kalfin said the party's decision to be in opposition does not mean that the MPs of ABV will vote against every proposal made by the power holders. Good proposals should be supported, he added.

Around 250 guests attended the 2nd National Conference of ABV, including ABV partners and representatives of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, the People's Union, the Bulgarian Democratic Centre, Gergyovden,the Alexander Stamboliyski Agrarian Union, the Bulgarian Social Democrats party, BSP-Sofia Chair Kaloyan Pargov, and the presidents of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria and the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour.