site.btaUPDATED GERB-UDF's PM-designate: New Early Elections Must Be Prevented

"Talks are underway," GERB - UDF's prime minister-designate Mariya Gabriel said on Bulgarian National TV (BNT) on Friday evening in response to a question about the government-forming negotiations between GERB - UDF and Continue the Change. "We have to do everything possible to prevent Bulgaria from being in a situation of new elections. We were in this situation nine months ago and then, in the name of the national interest, we said that we wanted to give the country stability," Gabriel added, refusing to give more details, but reiterating once that nothing has been agreed until everything is agreed. 

"I made my move by returning the fulfilled mandate to the President and giving the negotiations a chance to continue until the last moment," she said. "According to the Constitution, the composition of the government becomes clear and is voted when it is already in the National Assembly," she further said. 

The rift between GERB-UDF and Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) opened up when, following over ten days of government talks, on March 18 Mariya Gabriel announced that she had fulfilled a mandate to form a government and took to President Rumen Radev a tentative list of ministers without securing CC-DB's endorsement for it. The CC-DB people on the list, including outgoing Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov himself and Finance Minister Assen Vassilev, said they had not agreed to participate and would not back the government. Vassilev said that Gabriel is the "beautiful face of the Mafia", further widening the rift. 

On Thursday CC-DB put out a position in which they said that it is GERB-UDF's responsibility to offer a solution to a crisis they had created. GERB-UDF responded that talks are possible only after an immediate "public political apology" and after the withdrawal of Assen Vassilev from the negotiations and from his participation in a possible future cabinet. GERB said it stands firmly behind Mariya Gabriel as their prime minister-designate. 

Answering a question whether she will accept Assen Vassilev to be finannce minister in her government, Gabriel told BNT that this issue is part of the negotiations. "It would be nice to think before we speak and avoid finding ourselves in situations from which it is difficult to get out," she said, adding that negotiations should not start with ultimatums. She explained that she does not want a personal apology for Assen Vassilev's words. "I want an apology for all those women and professionals who responsibly hold high positions and an apology for the fact that in a team respect between men and women is a principle from which I will not back down."

According to Gabriel, the negotiations were constructive and by March 15 they had almost a ready text of an agreement.

Among the few issues that had not yet been clarified were the date on which the reform of the security services would take place and, regarding the judicial reform, the issue related to the investigative confidentiality. Regarding the Council of Ministers, two more names remained to be discussed, Gabriel said. "We are talking about the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Energy," she added.

However, it was then, according to Gabriel, that the push towards the second exploratory government-forming mandate began.

The outgoing Deputy Prime Minister reiterated that Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov had resigned without her knowledge. She added that for her the rotation was supposed to be a technical matter.

"All of us together must bring back the dialogue, bring back the reason and make sure that we have the ambition to work for Bulgaria and make it possible," Gabriel added.

"We have no right not to answer to the 40% of Bulgarians who do not want elections. We do not have the right not to answer to those citizens who want reforms, who want a eurozone, who want Bulgaria to take a decent European place. I personally had no right to push the country towards new elections before any possibility for negotiations was exhausted", she was adamant.

Nine months ago, the winner of the elections (GERB) conceded the first mandate in the name of the national interest, the outgoing Deputy Prime Minister said.

The 14-page agreement being worked out so far says the two ruling parties want to be responsible for joint governance.

"We need to have a legislative, governance programme that runs in parallel, that is coordinated between the two groups, so that there is a rhythm in the National Assembly that follows what the Council of Ministers has set."

Gabriel said she appreciates the high trust given to her by GERB leader Boyko Borissov and feels responsible for her decisions.