site.btaParliamentary Parties Vow not to Support GERB Government, GERB Ready to Go into Opposition

ESD 13:46:01 21-04-2021
LN1401ES.109
109 - POLITICS - PARLIAMENT - GERB - GOVERNMENT

Parliamentary Parties Vow not to Support
GERB Government, GERB Declares
Readiness to Go into Opposition


Sofia, April 21 (BTA) - All parties in the new Bulgarian Parliament except for the largest, GERB, vowed not to support a government proposed by GERB and GERB said in response that they are ready to go into opposition. "GERB is ready to go into opposition even though we have a lead of 8 per cent or so on the other parties but we need somebody in this hall to say what the political facts are," GERB deputy floor leader Toma Bikov said in a declaration on behalf of his group.

On Tuesday, GERB, in their capacity as the largest group in Parliament, received from President Rumen Radev an exploratory mandate to form a government headed by former Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov. As it had already become clear that they are unlikely to get any support for such a government, GERB said they might refuse the mandate but on Wednesday they invited Democratic Bulgaria to talks on a possible government and said they hope to meet with There Is Such a People (TISP), the second largest group, on Thursday. Mitov said that they would return the mandate to the President if all groups refuse to meet with them.

According to Boyko Borissov, who spoke to the press as he was discharged from hospital where he underwent knee surgery, GERB would return the mandate on Thursday or Friday.

Democratic Bulgaria held a news briefing to announce they had refused to meet with GERB. Its deputy floor leader Atanas Atanassov said that "GERB's ideology is corruption, wrigged public procurements and circles of friendly firms, and Democratic Bulgaria has no common ground with them, even though the two are both members of the European People's Party". "We have nothing to discuss with them and it is best for them to show humility and come to grips with a situation where Bulgarian people no longer want a GERB government", said Atanassov.

As the parliamentary groups traded declarations earlier in the day, GERB's Bikov said that a new parliamentary majority took shape with the election of the new Parliament Chair, and it includes TISP, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Democratic Bulgaria and Rise Up! Thugs Out!.

He was referring to the election of TISP's Iva Miteva as head of the National Assembly with the support of all but GERB.

"This majority functions through backstage deals: not the political and public declarations, or any ideological and policy groundwork," Bikov said.

TISP floor leader Toshko Yordanov called the GERB declaration Bikov read out "uber stupid" and said it was full of falsities. "Everybody in this room, who is not GERB, should know that if they support GERB for anything, they would betray the people," he said.

He also said that they will wait to see what GERB does with the government mandate before announcing their own plans about possibly proposing a government. MORE/