GERB leader Boyko Borissov told a briefing on Monday: "We cannot leave the financial stability of the people and the budget up to one more caretaker government." Earlier in the day, GERB-UDF's prime minister designate Mariya Gabriel returned to President Rumen Radev an unfulfilled government-forming mandate.
Later in the day, GERB-UDF and Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) propose a rotational government with a lifespan of 18 months on the second mandate.
Borissov added that GERB-UDF had held many meetings with the leaders of the CC-DB coalition recently. "They [the second largest group] have 64 MPs and cannot form a government; we cannot form a cabinet backed by 116 MPs either," Borissov said, referring to the option of getting support from the 36 MPs of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and from the 11 MPs of There Is Such a People (TISP). However, on Sunday night TISP said they would neither participate nor support a first-mandate cabinet of GERB-UDF, leaving it without the required majority of 121 to get elected.
New elections come next, Borissov said. Even if a 2023 State Budget Act is adopted, it will not carry political weight or reflect policies. In addition, it will not be possible to do anything about the Recovery and Resilience Plan, judicial and constitutional reform, or other strategic goals such as entry in Schengen and the euro area, he added.
The GERB-UDF coalition sticks to the moral principles of transparency, integrity and openness to the public, Borissov said. He thanked Mariya Gabriel, saying that she "returned to Bulgaria and resigned as EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth to join us".
"She played an enormous role in our next steps," he said.
/RY/
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