site.btaRise Up BG! and Democratic Bulgaria Meet, Say Their Support for Largest Group in Parliament Won't Come It at Any Cost

Sofia, July 28 (BTA) - Having met in Parliament Wednesday,
Democratic Bulgaria (DB) and Rise Up BG! Here We Come! said they
 won't support the largest group in the new Parliament, There Is
 Such a People, at any cost. Hristo Ivanov of DB and Maya
Manolova of Rise Up BG! told reporters that their meeting "was a
 signal they would not give their support to a potential new
government at any cost".

Ivanov and Manolova also said that positions and intentions were
 agreed during the meeting.

There Is Such a People (TISP) has met with the Ivanov's and
Manolova's groups in a bid to agree on the top priorities of the
 future government. They have been adamant that no names of
potential government members were being discussed and that DB
and Rise Up! want no government position. So far the three
seemed to agree on more things than they disagree on.

Now is the first time DB and Rise Up! are showing concern about
TISP's plans.

Manolova said Bulgarian people wanted a government of change,
not one that would reproduce the status quo. In this sense, she
said, the meeting with the DB should be read as a sign that ''we
 will not give our support at all costs and will not deceive the
 people who protested''. She was referring to the people who
protested last year against the GERB government, the Prosecutor
General and corruption.

Manolova was one of the outstanding participants in the protests
 herself.

She also reiterated that Rise Up! and DB have found common
ground on judicial and constitutional reform, anti-corruption
laws and updating pensions as of October 1.

Manolova said that the standard and direction set by the
caretaker ministers of the Interior, of Justice and for
management of EU funding, should be followed. She added that the
 TISP government nominations will be considered against the
benchmark for professionalism set by these three.

DB and Rise Up! are both convinced that a government should be
formed with the first mandate given by the President. Both
coalitions said that they will show constructivism and are not
going to put ultimatums at this point in time, but they are
adamant that they will not allow the "long arm" of GERB and the
Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) to reach the next
government.

Ivanov said an alarm about such a possibility sounded off when
TISP invited MRF to talks, "plus TISP's reluctance to discuss
names".

TISP also held talks with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms
(MRF) but said that was only to inform them about their plans -
not to seek support. Talks were held with the Socialist party as
 well, and the formerly ruling GERB are the only ones excluded
from the process.

According to Ivanov, this is how the model of ''floating
majorities'' works and it is where MRF "swims" best. He said he
is not at war with GERB and MRF, and only wants guarantees that
they will not influence important decisions.

''For example, if things come to the dismissal of Prosecutor
General Ivan Geshev, we need to be sure that GERB and MRF won't
play a key role in deciding who is the next  prosecutor general.
 Right now the question is no longer about whether Ivan Geshev
will leave, but who will be his successor," said Ivanov.

He denied having any ambitions for the post of Bulgaria's chief
prosecutor.

TISP have 65 deputies in the 240-seat Parliament and need to
secure support from the other groups to secure support for a
future government - hence the talks with all but GERB. President
 Rumen Radev said earlier in the week that he would offer a
government mandate to TISP only after they say the talks have
produced a result. The Constitution sets no deadline for that.
RI/DT