site.btaUPDATED President Radev Holds Consultations with Vazrazhdane

Representatives of Vazrazhdane held a consultation on cabinet formation with President Rumen Radev here on Tuesday. They were the first to meet with the President on the second day of his talks with the political parties represented in Parliament, before he asks the largest of them, GERB-UDF, to form a government. On Tuesday, Radev asked Vazrazhdane if they are ready to propose a formula to fulfil a third cabinet-forming mandate in case the first two fail. 

"You have positioned yourselves as opposition to this Government," the President said. Pointing out that the 49th National Assembly is currently trying to elect a government, he asked the Vazrazhdane representatives how they assess the efforts in this regard and what the likelihood of a cabinet being formed is.

"If we hold snap parliamentary elections and the configuration turns out to be similar, what do you think will happen afterwards," Radev asked the representatives of the parliamentary group after its floor leader, Kostadin Kostadinov, said that early elections are the solution.

Radev and Kostadinov clashed over the Vazrazhdane project for a referendum against the euro changeover in Bulgaria in the coming years. The proposal was backed by more than 400,000 signatures but was eventually rejected by the legislature as the majority argued that it was unlawful to hold a referendum on matters regulated by international treaties concluded by Bulgaria.

On Tuesday, the Vazrazhdane leader said that the President "is also to blame for the current situation in Bulgaria" because he should have taken a position in favour of the referendum against the euro changeover. The President rejected the accusation and said that he is guided by the Constitution. "I am guided only by the Constitution, whatever it is, as you in Parliament have made it. I implement it. It is high time to put an end to these speculations," the President said.

He also asked Vazrazhdane not to rile up their supporters and lay the blame on the presidential institution.  He pointed out that without a clear and firm decision from the National Assembly, he could not sign a decree for a referendum. "The voice of all those people who put their signatures in support of the referendum must by no means be disregarded. But you are asking me to fight lawlessness with lawlessness. There is no way I can do it," Radev told the Vazrazhdane representatives.

"Bulgaria will start to resemble a normal, democratic country when we all respect the laws," the President said. "I consider a very serious issue the fact that Parliament did not muster the courage to respect the law and, above all, to respect the will of all those people who have signed in favour of a referendum," Radev added.

The President said that he strongly supports the notion that the will of the Bulgarian people should be respected, but in his words, this debate should take place in Parliament. "When you come up with a clear decision there, feel free to come here, and you will have my decree," the President said.

Speaking to the press after the consultation with the President, Kostadinov siad that "a successful rotation implies unsuccessful development for Bulgaria". In his words, the President should hand over the cabinet-forming mandate the very next day because GERB-UDF and CC-DB are sure to reach an agreement on the future of the government. Kostadinov added that according to information Vazrazhdane has, GERB leader Boyko Borissov had agreed with CC-DB to get the Prosecutor General's Office. 

"Bulgaria is dying, and its killers are at the National Assembly," Kostadinov said.

He noted that the topics of discussion during the consultations included "the current political situation in this country and abroad, the fact that Bulgaria is threatened by war, that the Bulgarian Government poses a threat to national security, Bulgarian communities abroad, and the referendum on preserving the Bulgarian lev". He reiterated Vazrazhdane’s stance that "the sooner snap elections are held, the better".