site.btaPresident Continues Consultations with Parliamentary Forces

Sofia, December 7 (BTA) - On Tuesday, President Rumen Radev continued the consultations with the parliamentary groups in the new 47th National Assembly before presenting the first government-forming mandate to the largest group, Continue the Change.

Receiving representatives of There Is Such a People (TISP), Radev said the party has already proven it is part of the change in Bulgaria. "Many Bulgarian voters continue to see in TISP the hope for a new, honest policy which clearly identifies the problems and the solutions rather than sweeping the problems under the carpet," he said.

The President expressed his conviction that the experience TISP amassed, particularly last year, allows them to get a clear idea about the challenges and the tasks of the new government and makes them willing to contribute to the solutions.

TISP Floor Leader Toshko Yordanov recalled TISP leader Slavi Trifonov's words that they will do everything within their powers to ensure that Bulgaria has a normal government. Yordanov said: "What we have always done is keep our word. We will remain what we are, free of political hypocrisy. We will call a spade a spade. We will be predictable and loyal partners, provided that the other parliamentary forces involved in the negotiations for the future government behave the same way."

The President's second meeting on Tuesday was with Democratic Bulgaria. He said: "With the votes cast in your favour, the Bulgarian citizens showed that they need uncompromising protection of the rule of law and rooting out the abuse of authority, which has become pervasive over the last decade."

According to Radev, the two caretaker governments established consecutively this year have not just stabilized the country but have also built a sound foundation for future interaction free of the dependencies and the negative legacy of the past.

Democratic Bulgaria Floor Leader Hristo Ivanov said the first thing that can be said about the emerging ruling majority is that it will be able to function without the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and GERB, "without the political entities which carry the corruption virus". Secondly, the future incumbents will have the chance to restart the prosecution service and the Supreme Judicial Council. "It will not be easy, and in some cases it will require a wider majority in order to make it last and reach deep," Ivanov added.

Democratic Bulgaria Co-Chairman Atanas Atanassov said the new government is "almost clear", but noted that the security sector seems unbalanced. Some appointments have been misjudged, according to him. For example, he said, the Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry is failing to live up to his high post.

Democratic Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader Vladislav Panev expects that the reforms to be carried out by the new government will not be very radical because of the differences between the parties involved. However, Panev is optimistic because the discussions held so far have identified very concrete steps for the first few months of the government term in office.

Also meeting with the President, Vazrazhdane Chairman Kostadin Kostadinov said Bulgaria is plagued by problems which call for urgent solutions because the country has been in a crisis for a decade.

Kostadinov insisted that all measures against the COVID-19 outbreak should be cancelled. The green certificate should be scrapped because it is highly discriminatory, and everything should be done to protect the people's right to normal and decent living, he said.

Among the important issues awaiting solutions, Kostadinov singled out the demographic crisis, the risk of Bulgaria's population melting away. He also pointed to problems in education and healthcare. Vazrazhdane expect solutions in the energy sector, including the price of electricity, which, if left to rise on January 1, will worsen the crisis.

Kostadinov went on to discuss foreign relations. Concerning the Bulgarian veto of the start of EU membership talks with the Republic of North Macedonia, he said Bulgaria cannot make a concession the way its EU partners obviously imagine. "Anything else would be a clear form of blatant treason," he admonished.

For these and all other policies, Vazrazhdane will seek support from all sensible individuals and parties in the National Assembly. "We will try to talk with everyone. This is a national cause for us. Every Bulgarian matters where a national cause is concerned, regardless of their political affiliation," Kostadinov said. RY/VE