site.btaDemocratic Bulgaria Refuses Meeting about Support for Cabinet Formed on Socialists' Mandate

August 31 (BTA) - The Democratic Bulgaria (DB) political union will not attend the meeting scheduled for today by BSP for Bulgaria in their bid to gain support for forming a regular government on the third exploratory mandate, handed to the Socialists by President Rumen Radev, DB informed on Tuesday.

"This meeting is pointless because it was clear from the start that a mandate given to the BSP is doomed and that there is no majority to support such a cabinet. This meeting is turning into a pre-election PR campaign for [BSP Leader] Mrs. Ninova," said DB floor leader Hristo Ivanov on the Bulgarian National Radio.

This was the second meeting scheduled by BSP for Bulgaria with three of the six parliamentary groups after Sunday's meeting with Rise Up BG! Here We Come!. The third and last meeting, with There Is Such a People (TISP), is scheduled for Wednesday.

Ivanov said there had been a chance to form a cabinet if talks had started before the President presented the third mandate to BSP for Bulgaria. "The President made it clear during the consultations between the first and second mandates that he was ready to consider such a proposal. For some reason, Mrs. Ninova decided to block that option, she proclaimed it was unconstitutional, she refused to start a dialogue, and that was when all chances were lost for the third mandate to accomplish something," Hristo Ivanov commented.

According to him, the 46th National Assembly must be given time to adopt the State budget revision, as well as the DB-proposed draft amendments to the Judiciary System Act which envisage the closure of specialized courts and prosecution offices.

Speaking about this country's governance in the future, Ivanov pointed out that the traditional pattern of concentrating power into one big "player" is currently shifting towards a new model of policy making through legitimate coalitions.

"The next Parliament must produce a government that can do the job people elected it to do. But not at any cost. At a reasonable cost. We must sit down and give up our claims for exclusivity. The rest is a matter of negotiations," Hristo Ivanov said.

TISP unsuccessfully completed their mandate and the second largest parliamentary group, GERB-UDF, immediately declined the second mandate.

The chances of a cabinet being elected on the third mandate are slim, considering that TISP (65 MPs) and GERB-UDF (63 MPs) have committed to oppose such a proposal. It is highly improbable that the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (29 MPs) will vote in favour. This leaves just 49 certain votes in support of a third-mandate Council of Ministers (36 from BSP for Bulgaria and 13 from Rise Up!) in the 240-seat legislature. To be elected, a proposed cabinet must be supported by more than half of the MPs present.

BSP's reaction

BSP leader Kornelia Ninova commented: "To us, Democratic Bulgaria's failure to turn up at the meeting means that they do not want to have a Parliament-elected cabinet and want elections; what is worse, they do not want to start the change thousands of people demanded in the streets [last summer]."

Democratic Bulgaria's refusal to meet with BSP for Bulgaria is also a refusal to debate the revision of the budget, said Ninova. As a result, there is a risk that pensioners may not see their pensions recalculated, health workers may be left without support amid the COVID crisis, the Ministries of Interior and Defence may not get support for border security, and the economy may be left without support measures, she commented.

She recalled that the BSP expects TISP to state their final decision at Wednesday's meeting, which will determine the Socialists' future actions. "We cannot give up halfway through," she said.

A National Council meeting of the BSP, its coalition partners and the MPs of BSP for Bulgaria will be held on Thursday to decide the future steps.

DD/MT