site.bta GERB Sees Minority Coalition with Reformist Bloc as Likeliest Option but Reformists Want Three-Party Government

GERB Sees Minority Coalition with Reformist Bloc as Likeliest Option but Reformists Want
Three-Party Government


Sofia, October 28 (BTA) - Emerging from a crucial meeting with
parliamentary floor leaders on Tuesday morning, GERB leader
Boyko Borissov said that, judging by the talks and the positions
expressed in them, a minority coalition between GERB and the
Reformist Bloc (RB) seems to be the only workable formula. It
transpired later, however, that the RB are adamant they would
only be involved in a three-party government supported by a
coalition agreement with the other two parties, GERB and the
Patriotic Front (PF).

The RB position was announced by co-leaders Meglena Kuneva and
Radan Kanev after a meeting of the RB group in Parliament and
after the leaders' meeting of all eight parliamentary groups.
The only absent floor leader was Volen Siderov of the
nationalist Ataka party.

In Borissov words, the minority government will enjoy "floating
majority" on individual issues.

Emerging from their group's meeting, Kuneva reconfirmed that the
RB would not stand in the way of a Centre-Right government "but
it needs a majority to be stable".

Kanev added that there would most likely be a three-party
government coalition.

The RB believes that leaders' meetings as the one held Tuesday
can only be advisory rather than expect of them to result in an
accord among three parties. This is why the Bloc believes that
they need to hold a two-party meeting with GERB and then with
the PF, followed by a trilateral meeting.

The RB would go to such meetings with the position that there
needs to be a coalition agreement among the parties which will
share the government.

Kuneva said the two rounds of consultations held in the past
couple of weeks left them with the impression that they would be
part of a majority government - but they heard a different
thing at the leaders' meeting. "There was a change of positions
on the part of GERB and the PF, and I donТt know why that
happened," she added. She would not specify what that change
was.

The Leaders: Full Four-Year Government Term and No New Snap
Elections

The parliamentary forces taking part in the leaders' meeting
took a stand in favour of a full four-year term of the future
cabinet, and rejected the option for holding fresh early
parliamentary elections together with the next regular local and
presidential elections. The participants in the meeting were
unanimous that new parliamentary elections in February would be
fatal for Bulgaria.

Borissov said, that if the RB sign a coalition agreement with
GERB and a programme accompanying it, the two documents will be
sent out to the other formations in Parliament "by Friday". "For
me, this is the working formula: The RB must decide and we
should start drawing up a coalition agreement," Borissov said.

Borissov said that if he becomes a prime minister, every Tuesday
the agendas of the meetings of the Council of Ministers will be
sent out for discussion at similar meetings of parliamentary
floor leaders. The GERB Chairman stated that he will accept
support from the political formations on various issues.

RB Co-chairperson Meglena Kuneva said that the participants in
the meeting shared the opinion that, by way of the will of the
voters, a chance is being given for a Centre-Right government by
GERB and the RB.

Borissov and Kuneva declined to answer reporters' questions.

PF to Sign Programme for Stable Government, not Coalition
Agreement

PF floor leader Valeri Simeonov reiterated their position that
they would sign a programme for a stable government - not a
coalition agreement and would support it regardless of whether
it is a GERB-only or GERB-RB government. They might be involved
in the future government with experts but not with political
figures.

Siderov: A harmful politeness

In a statement released through the party press office on
Tuesday, Ataka leader Siderov said that "the meeting of
parliamentary floor leaders is a continuation of the playacting
we witnessed in the past two weeks during the so-called
negotiations with parties". Siderov further stated that each
parliamentary group should say whether it will support Borissov
as a prime minister. "I state now that I will not support him
for prime minister. He already was a prime minister and showed
that he is unable to throw out even a single
electricity-distribution company from Bulgaria, unable to touch
monopolists, or the price of electricity. This man is a coward.
All this playacting and demonstration of politeness and
collusion is very harmful," Siderov says, adding that Ataka will
be "a very strong and critical opposition of the unprincipled
governance that is being prepared".