site.btaRadan Kanev Heads Right-wing New Republic

Radan Kanev Heads Right-wing New Republic

Sofia, January 31 (BTA) - Radan Kanev is chairman of the New Republic right-wing alliance, spokesman Traicho Traikov told a news conference.

New Republic, which was founded on Tuesday, comprises the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), the DSB's National Women's Club, the Union for Plovdiv party, the Bulgarian Democratic Community party, the Civil Bloc Alliance, and the Radko Association of Bulgarians in Macedonia.

Traikov said the alliance had great political ambitions, including a Grand National Assembly and rebuilding some of the institutions.

Kanev said even the core sympathizers of the parties had long lost confidence in the existing party model, as was evidenced by the referendum on November 6, 2016, at which the majority voted for new election rules. The parties will have to learn to work with individuals, not with structures, he said. Bulgaria has more than 300 parties but fewer than 30 politicians have confronted the mafia, said Kanev, adding that 15 of them are in New Republic. "I hope the rest will also be with us at the elections," he added.

New Republic is an alternative to GERB, its main political opponents are the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, said Kanev. He believes the next parliament will be made up of more than four or five parties, and that GERB and the BSP will not win an equal number of seats. "All their polling agencies make claims to the contrary to pep up their electorate," he said.

Answering a question, Kanev said New Republic would not run in the elections with the Reformist Bloc.